"...The importance of leaning on the ‘sustaining infinite'"
/In practice I repeatedly see that those who hunger for/are receptive to the Word more naturally seem to shift thinking from things (physical or other challenges) to thoughts. They focus on spiritual growth, draw closer to God and find healing.
A patient’s recent healing illustrates this and taught us both several lessons about the power of God’s Word and the importance of fully (and only) leaning on the “sustaining Infinite.”
Background: a lifelong, working Christian Scientist married to an agnostic who was needing to accompany/care for through her serious cancer challenges, including multiple appointments, surgeries, treatments etc. He had even resigned temporarily as a SS teacher to stay home on weekends and care for her since she resented/felt abandoned by his Sunday morning commitments while she was ill.
Apparently several years earlier he’d had some heart problems and through pressure and fear from her family had turned to medical treatment/surgery for it. Having worked his way out of the many medical and spiritual challenges from this decision he was quietly clear that he would never go that route again.
He called for CS treatment because l) he had aggressive symptoms/physical evidence of prostate cancer. Never diagnosed but similar to signs his friend with diagnosed case had and all those posters, etc. in doctors’; offices/hospitals when he was accompanying his wife. 2). He yearned to get closer to God through this, and had made the decision that he would only rely on God, and he would not tell his family or others what he was dealing with.
We started with MBE’;s guidance (SH 123:12-15): “Divine Science, rising above physical theories, excludes matter, resolves things into thoughts, and replaces the objects of material sense with spiritual ideas.”;
We looked toward the Bible – and particularly Luke 15 (the prodigal son and his Father), the ways Nehemiah dealt with the many persistent lying suggestions, and Psalm 23 and its spiritual interpretation (especially verses 4-6) for spiritual ideas.
The patient, like the Prodigal Son, had seen the futility of other decisions and had “come to himself” – turning wholeheartedly to seek the Father only for healing (and yearning to know and serve the Father more, and take practice) and was also seeking to forgive himself for past medical reliance and yearning to feel closer to God. That decisive stand – up front – to seek God only was huge, and like the Prodigal Son, also enabled the patient to accept the Father’s unconditional love and forgiveness, and accept Father’s Genesis 1 gifts (dominion, spiritual identity and sonship – symbolized by father’s gifts to the prodigal – as a spiritual idea including not a single element of error) was a starting point!
Willingness on both our parts to turn things into thoughts and exchange objects (symptoms of sense) for ideas of Soul, enabled us both to “begin rightly” and use as a checkpoint for continuing to seek God and God’s perspective, rather than trying to “fix matter”; (This contributed greatly to quick healing and ongoing spiritual growth, and for both replaced any burden with a sense of spiritual adventure, sharing what we were learning.)
Promise of Psalm 23 that God prepared a table before us in the presence of our enemies (aggressive symptoms/suggestions/predictions), and anointed our heads (thoughts) with oil (inspiration, consecration, etc.) and showed us the outcome we could count on – “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” brought the assurance right in the midst of things. That initial certainty of full healing and inspiration in the midst was liberating and dissipating the fear within a day or so.
Nehemiah’s persistently turning to God and all the specific ways he discerned and dealt with error’s arguments were our instruction too – and we kept returning to them when suggestions of pain or ongoing symptoms would try to distract or disable the work.
Fear and pain left within a day or two. Within a week or so, despite the ongoing appearance of symptoms, patient had conviction he was healed and dismissed me because physical no longer held sway or was even in his thought most of the time. And when symptoms entered thought, he turned immediately back to the books. But the real clue was his real joy in what he was learning and seeing of God and the way the Bible and textbook were opening up to him. During this time he also received a request for prayerful help from another, and had a healing of long-term challenge with a fellow church member.
During this time – he also found that some practical help – i.e., the providing by church members of some additional meals for the family which communicated to the wife his church’s support for her and them (as he doesn’t cook) and was a tangible sign to her of support for her (irrespective of her choices), and a quiet reminder to him that he, too, was supported in his quiet choice (which no one else knew about). Within a few more days, all symptoms vanished, and have remained so. Full healing. (Although one that is being cherised quietly.) What is obvious is the spiritual growth! He has dedicated more time daily to in-depth study (and cut back a bit on his professional work hours). He has given several testimonies re insights from Bible study. He has continued to take practice cases. And – he has been able to hold to his view of spiritual reality when thinking of his wife – and she has bounced back beautifully, defying the expectations of her physicians.
This quick healing, and the power of the Word, and lessons learned, has also been inspiring to me, prompting me to listen for other ways to share the Word more in practice.