“...I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord:” (Jeremiah 29: 11-14 to first :) (My underline of 'you'). “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left...” (Isaiah 30: 21). “....And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” (I Kings 19: 11, 12). “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4: 24). “....they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being;” (Acts 17: 27, 28 to first ;). We live, and move, and have our being in the infinite Spirit we know as God. Our connection to this great, all-inclusive spiritual Intelligence is unbroken. We're all connected to God forever; we always have been, and we always shall be. And we each have our own link, or connection, right where it's always been: in our consciousness. We can't get out of God, and God can't get out of us. The Creator stays in complete charge of Its own creation, because creation, and all that dwells within, is enclosed (can only live) in the Intelligence which created it. Yet, this human condition of materiality gives the false impression that we're separated from divine Spirit. Not only separated from God, our Source, (wherein our being and essence actually dwells) but from Spirit's realm, as well. The condition of materiality is actually the manifestation of the belief that our individual spirits, or souls, have left deity to reside in material forms (bodies) and that to return to God and our heavenly home of Spirit, we must escape, through death, our entombment in these physical body forms we seem to inhabit, and in which we seem to be so imprisoned. Thus, to the material senses, the realm of Spirit seems esoteric. It's a mystery to be rediscovered and solved. For those who rely, solely, on the physical senses to define reality, limitations will crop up from all directions. For instance, we can only clearly see about a block in distance; we hear only within feet of where we're standing; smell what's in our immediate environment; taste what's on our tongue, and feel only that which touches our body form. We're severely limited with these physical assessors. Reality is far more vast that these physical senses perceive. In fact, when we observe all the progress in the world that has taken place, we find that the inventions we've enjoyed had their source, not in the physical, but in the mental realm—the realm of infinite, spiritual Intelligence. Some inventors, nay almost all inventors, have seen and heard, from within consciousness, the ideas, formulas, and organization needed to bring new things to light, which benefit humanity's plight. This same infinite, spiritual Intelligence (God) is within us all. We actually live within its borders. It allows us to become creators ourselves—at least on this material plane of existence. It tells us what, where, why, who, and how. We can 'see' ahead for centuries, those things that will be needed, and determine how to make it happen. We can suddenly have the idea that permits us to solve something that has plagued us for years. This infinite presence is the greatest perceiver that exists; and all we have to do is ask, which is really our way of remembering that God is with us—within our own conscious being. Ask, and then trust completely. To show how immediate this God-connection is, here's a somewhat minor way in which it came to my aid one busy, Christmas season: My husband and I had been Christmas shopping at a local Mall. It was the last week before Christmas, and the Mall was quite full. We went to a food court to sit down and have a bite to eat, and were stunned by the crowd of people about, trying to eat standing up. Also, many were sitting on the floor, which is what I was prepared to do; but even floor space was filling up. Thinking we had to take our food to the car, in order to eat, I suddenly realized that I wasn't approaching this from a spiritual standpoint. Nor was I remembering that divine Spirit, God, was always within my consciousness to guard and guide me, wherever I needed to go. In fact, a few days earlier, I'd been praying about this very kind of thing—what to do when material needs arise, suddenly, and must be met. Days earlier, in prayer, I'd asked to be shown how it was that God is all-in-all to us. How was divine Spirit our only, true provider, even in this physical, so-called realm? How could I learn not to turn to anything material for supply, but to realize (understand) first, that infinite Spirit is our eternal Source, and thus, able to meed our immediate physical supply needs, in every case where a material need arose? These earlier thoughts (about how Spirit could fill all our material needs) kept coming back to me, as I stood in the middle of the crowded food court. So, there we were, packages on the floor, holding our food in both hands, as I silently prayed for the divine Spirit within to show us what to do. I knew not to pray, unless I gave God my complete trust—otherwise, I'd be praying in vain. I had to trust that Spirit was willing and able to fill the need, even if I didn't fully understand how. I reminded myself that God was always with us, no matter what the material circumstances of the moment, and I asked this divine Spirit what we should do. Immediately, the quiet thought came to me to look over to the large table behind me. I turned around, and there were about six people sitting there, and coats thrown about on two, otherwise-empty chairs. The directive came, in thought, to go over and ask them about those chairs—just in case there were no more people joining them in their party. (I felt, a bit, like I was intruding; but I did what had come to me to do.) One woman immediately got up and said, “Well, actually, you can take this little table for two connected at this end. I'll move over, and we'll put the coats on my bags.” I hadn't realized that the large table was really two tables—one long, and one short. They quickly helped us move the small table a few feet away from theirs, and, after thanking them for their kindness, my husband and I had a small table, all to ourselves, in the middle of the crowd. Our human need had been met. Clearly, the divine Intelligence, residing within, had known the way—and the precise place—that would fill our need of a place to sit and eat. As I pondered this whole experience later, that “still, small voice” that the Bible speaks of (see quotation at top of article) began to speak to me, again, in a teaching voice. It said something like, “Do you see why and how Spirit met the need for your place in the midst of chaos and what seemed to be lack? The all-seeing, all-knowing Mind is aware of all phenomena, both spiritual and what the thought of man requires. But it's the divine Intelligence that is the agent for meeting material needs. Spirit's Intelligence, alone, is able to provide perfectly, because it knows all variables. Just as in mathematics, problems are solved when all factors are considered; but it's the divine Intelligence, alone, which has all 'factors' factored in. A person might come forward and meet your need, as the woman did in separating the tables—but from where, and what source, did the thought, or idea, come to her to do that for you? It comes from that same divine Intelligence which led you to her. That's why you must turn to this higher Intelligence first, not last. It's the same divine, spiritual Intelligence which is within all, which is capable of providing for all, whenever one turns to it. No one standing and eating, in that crowd, was without God. No one had to stand. Those who did just didn't yet know who and what God is. They didn't know God's creative ability to provide, without limitations, and where God is found. One day, all will know.” That's the best of my recollection of how, that day, provision from God was shown to work in the human condition. As I said, days earlier I had asked God to show me how infinite Spirit could meet all material needs. I think that experience in the crowded Mall was really a teaching lesson meant to demonstrate, to me, how God, divine Spirit, can be all-in-all, even in the material scene. I don't think we can ask our heavenly parent for something spiritual (like my need to understand or comprehend something) and not receive it. If God fills our human needs and even desires, how much more does God fulfill our spiritual needs, when asked? This lesson at the Mall showed me that it's the Intelligence of Spirit that is the agent for meeting all supply needs, whether physical or spiritual. This divine Intelligence and Spirit is ever-present with us, but we must realize where our link or connection with it exists. Our connection to God exists in each, individual consciousness. And our individual consciousness is also linked to all creation, forever. I believe it's of this link (God with us) that Christ Jesus spoke of when he said, “....lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28: 20). I think that the “I” isn't referring to the human, Jesus, but to the spiritual self, the Christ identity, within each of us. The Christ is the name of this higher, spiritual Self that exists, for all humanity, right where a material, false sense of self (a human) seems to exist. This Christ identity, our spiritual, higher self, is with us always, and in all ways. It is, and always was, connected to God. It's the real “I” of our being. It's the Self that is the real image of God. It's our true identity, at one with God, and all the intelligence, wisdom, love, righteousness, and harmony of Spirit (God's) heavenly realm. And who would have thought one could find that at a Mall?
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