To live always in the Secret Place of
the Most High,
To think only those thoughts inspired from above,
To do all things in the conviction that God is with us,
To give the best to all the world with no thought or regard,
To leave all recompense to Him "who doeth all things well,"
To love everybody as God loves us and be kind as He is kind,
To ask God for everything and in faith expect everything,
To love God so much that we can inwardly feel that, "My Father and I are
one."
This is the prayer without ceasing, the true worship of the soul.
–Anonymous
As the Israelites led by Moses, we are on a
journey to a new land. From the bondage of lack, of various kinds of pain in our lives,
from failed relationships or family difficulties and from the bondage of all forms of
human limitations, we are seeking the freedom of the Promised Land. A glimmer of hope
keeps us walking and wandering like the Israelites, 40 or even 70 years–however long
it takes. There is a map and there are many guideposts along the way which make our
journey shorter with fewer turns and detours. In these and future pages I share with you
the map as I have found it.
The first principle we need to know deeply
to begin this journey is that every individual can live life exactly as he or she
desires. Imagine. Life exactly as you desire! There are times when people live with
great pain and suffering surrounded by life-challenges and it is exactly where they want
to be. When someone comes to them with a litany of problems, Psychologists often ask,
"What’s the payoff? What do you get from the suffering? What do these challenges
give you?" We are the master of our own existence. Jesus said, "Is it not
written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’?" He was quoting Psalm 82:6
which continues, "sons of the Most High, all of you." You have the ultimate
authority over your own life. What a principle! Burn this into your mind. In every
situation where you begin to think, "Oh, my God, this is awful. Look what they are
doing to me!" change your mind in that moment. Or think of the times when you simply
went along with difficult situations thinking that you were powerless. Remember: To choose
to do nothing is to accept or approve and "to approve" means to prove. Is that
what you really want to prove to yourself? Realize, "I have the power to live life
exactly as I desire." In that moment you will feel a burst of inner power because you
will have released yourself from the bondage of victimhood. All the elements of life can
be changed. They can be recombined to satisfy the desire of your heart. Can you believe
this? It is the foundation upon which each step of your higher journey rests. "Know
ye not that ye are gods, sons of the Most High?"
The next step is to desire whatever you
desire, but desire it with all your mind, heart and soul. Think about your life
experiences thus far. Certainly there have been times when you desired something so much
that it burned like a flame in your heart and you kept that flame burning until it was
reflected in your life, until you held it in your hand, a desire expressed. How often do
we have desires only to think, "That will never happen. Maybe it will to someone, but
not to me." It will if you desire it with all your heart. Jesus said, "You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind." (Matthew 22:37) He was quoting Deuteronomy 6:5. When we desire, what we desire
is really a greater awareness of God. All the things are simply manifestations of
the attributes or substance of God. So desire what you desire with all your heart, mind
and soul. Go beyond the outer surface of human emotion to the deep inner conviction that
what you desire is already prepared for you.
One day, when Jesus and his disciples passed
a fig tree he had cursed earlier because it had no fruit, Jesus said four important words:
"Have faith in God." This is the third principle. We invest so much faith
in what is not God: sickness and death, lack, limitations and negativity of all kinds.
Jesus clearly states where our faith needs to be. Faith we always have and it is always
invested in something. If it is not in God, it is in something that is not God, in the
presence of life and health or the absence of them. Sometimes we believe in God, but then
believe that we are separate from God–that we have found the one situation where God
is unavailable. "Believe in God, believe also in me." (John 14:1) Often I have
suggested this affirmation: I believe in God; I believe in Christ; I believe in Christ
in me. Believe in God in the absolute, the one presence and power throughout the
universe. Believe in Christ, God’s idea of itself–the perfect pattern as
spiritual man. Believe also in Christ within you as your spiritual self–the Absolute
individualized as you. When your faith is rightly invested in God’s presence, not
only throughout the universe but also at work in you and in everything that concerns you,
it becomes the power of the mind to transcend itself and to transcend all the incomplete
appearances of this world.
After healing someone, can you imagine Jesus
saying, "I did that rather well, don’t you think? Wasn’t that creative,
using the mud on the man’s eyes? Wait until you see what I did with Lazarus!" We
find it ridiculous to think of Jesus saying such things. What he did say was, "the
words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he
does the works." (John 14:10) He gave credit for the great works to the only source
of power. He knew that no great spiritual work was accomplished by his personal ego; it
does not have the power. This brings us to the fourth milestone which is: depend on
your spiritual Self and give it all the credit. In back of the face you see in the
mirror, behind your actions and behaviors lies an eternal being of light, love, wisdom and
intelligence. As God individualized, you have no power, life, wisdom or intelligence of
your own. You do have God-power, God-life, God-wisdom and God-intelligence to express.
When we seek the credit for anything or think it is the personal self which does anything,
we pull the plug on spiritual power and then wonder why things run out, we run down and
our good seems to run away. Trust the higher power within you. Consciously take it into
every situation. When there is something to be done, give it to the Lord of your being.
God-power loves to be used and to express as your highest good–if you let it.
Viktor Frankl, who once spoke at Unity
headquarters, discovered for himself the fifth principle while confined in a concentration
camp during the Holocaust. He observed that those in the camp who found no purpose simply
died; they just did not survive. He also saw that those who did find meaning and purpose
in their lives had a much better chance of surviving. Even today a lot of people live only
to extend their physical existence no matter how monotonous or unfulfilled it might be.
Many are afraid to die and afraid to live. The fifth principle is: live for a great
purpose. When you live for a great purpose, you live the larger life. You open your
mind and heart to great ideas. Through the activity of the law of mind action–as in
mind, so in manifestation–great ideas become great experiences and the kingdom of
heaven becomes heaven on earth. Sometimes we complain that life is meaningless or heavy or
hard. This happens when our vision remains below the horizon where we see only the effects
of our narrow vision. Life is full of meaning and purpose and we have the eyes to see but
we have to raise our vision. It does not matter what you do in life; whatever it is, you
can do it with great purpose. Know that all of life is a spiritual program and the entire
universe would be very different if you were not in it. Dare to live for great purpose and
know that when you touch greatness, you touch God.
Copyright © 2001 by Greg W. Neteler
Used with permission.
Messages from previous months