The Right Focus

The lamp on my desk wasn't working. I saw it was unplugged. I plugged it in, but it didn't go on. I used another outlet, but it still didn't go on. I got a new light bulb. Guess what? It still didn't work. Then I looked closer. And I had to laugh, because all along I'd been plugging in the cord from another appliance. The lamp never had been broken.

This illustrated to me a spiritual lesson I am learning. When we focus too narrowly on a problem, we often don't see what we need to. But when we look to God, we always see what is really true.

What is true? God loves us. He cares for us. Maintains harmony. Causes only good. God is always here. Now, this may seem hard to believe when a job is in jeopardy, or when there's been an argument, or when you are sick. However, refusing to accept any problem as being insurmountable, and trusting God to govern all things, bring healing.

There was once a man who believed if he could only get into a certain pool of water after an angel visited it, he'd be healed. But he was crippled and could never get in fast enough. Still, he focused on that pool as the answer that would bring healing.

Then someone came along and asked if he wanted to be "made whole." The man started to explain why he couldn't get into the pool. But this questioner, Christ Jesus, replied, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." And the man was instantly healed. He did just as he was told, walking for the first time in 38 years (see John 5:2-9).

Jesus didn't put him in that pool. Jesus told him in effect to stop looking to that water as a healing solution, and to look to God. Jesus knew that God had never made that man material and imperfect to begin with. The man was awakened to this spiritual fact, and his thought changed. The focus was then on the power of God - on Spirit. This truth healed him instantly.

Looking away from a problem does not mean neglecting anything necessary. Just the opposite. Focusing on the truth of God spiritualizes and clarifies thought to see the truth. For instance, when we understand that God has made us in His image, we can rightfully claim our identity as being spiritual, whole, and free.

Mary Baker Eddy published a book in 1875 that has since sold over nine million copies. "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" explains the laws of God by which Jesus healed, and shows how we, too, can heal when we rely on God. It states: "Look away from the body into Truth and Love, the Principle of all happiness, harmony, and immortality. Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts" (Pg. 261). When we look to God, we discover we are spiritual. This realization brings physical healing.

When I was a teenager, I had a disease underneath my fingernails for over a year. It was bothersome and quite unattractive. I prayed at times to heal this problem.

One evening I was listening to hear God. I was not thinking about my nails, but about how my boyfriend's parents, without cause, yelled at his little brother and sister. This disturbed me. In prayer, I started acknowledging that God was everyone's eternal Father and Mother. I knew God loved these children - and their parents - unconditionally. This meant I didn't have to worry. God, Love itself, was ever present. He was caring for these children. I then felt wonderful peace and reassurance that all was well.

The next morning my mom smiled and exclaimed, "Have you looked at your hands?"

"No," I said.

"Well, look at them!"

Not a trace of the unsightly condition under the nails was left. I had been spiritualizing my thought in prayer, growing in my understanding of God. And this change of thought had resulted in a needed physical healing. I was grateful for the healing, and even more grateful for the peace and new understanding. (And things seemed to be quieter at my boyfriend's home, too.)

We can always turn to God, under any circumstance. We have a spiritual connection with God because He is our Father-Mother. You could say we can't ever be unplugged from God. Focusing on the truth of God heals.