"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." (Psalm 42:11; King James Bible Version (KJV). "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (Words of Christ Jesus; John 10:9-11; New King James Bible Version (NKJV). "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3: 4-6; NKJV). "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33; NKJV). "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33; NKJV). "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." (Words of Christ Jesus; John 16:24; NKJV).
Depression comes to us in many forms. For example, lack of abundance, or sufficient supply of anything, causes individual and global depressions (both materially and emotionally) throughout our lands. Lack of health can take all the joy out of our daily lives. Lack of peace and safety can create an atmosphere of fear that seems to dominate all else, leaving our spirits to feel mortally wounded, and vulnerable, just from the threats of danger. Thus, during all trying times, depression of our spirit is the one thing that needs our highest attention. For, even when circumstances seem globally bad, it is our consciousness of God-with-us and God's almighty ever-present good that is important to cling to, with all our hearts and minds, in order to be delivered from the earthly threats of each day, and our own belief in them. To defeat the negative influences that can fill our thoughts during bad, human conditions, we must continue to assert our remembrance that God's invisible presence, loving care for us, and spiritual law over Its own creation is here, too. God's sovereign power and harmonious control over all has never left anyone alone. We actually live, move, and have our being in that infinite Intelligence we call God; therefore, in trying times, we must begin to habitually remember that God never leaves us to the carnal mind (the universal belief in finite materiality). For, despite all beliefs to the contrary, the material circumstances and scenes before our eyes are not all there is to reality. In fact, material conditions aren't even the most important thing; for as almost everyone has experienced, the physical scene can shift in a heart-beat. So what causes the physical scene to shift away from bad to good? Simply this: Changes for the better, and our complete deliverance from any physical, or even mental threat, can occur just as soon as we realize in thought that the material scene we're accepting with such fear and trepidation can be 'trumped' by the invisible, spiritual presence and power of God, whose invisible presence is with us at all times, and under any threatening circumstances. A psalmist tells us: "…weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5; the New King James Bible). I think this means that it isn't what seems to be our fate in the first place that is so important; but rather, it is more important what God's loving, spiritual law does about any earthly evil, in the second place. That's what Christ Jesus meant, I believe, when he said, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33; NKJV; See full quote at top of article.) The master healer of earth's woes is telling us that by trusting in God's love for each and every one of us, and by realizing that somewhere (under all the beliefs of this world involving human trials and tribulations) right there is the underlying, invisible to-the-senses, kingdom of God, still going on, safe, sound and abundant for all eternity. When Christ Jesus spoke the words "I have 'overcome the world' " I believe he was speaking of the universal Christ identity, which he was demonstrating for all of us to mentally 'put on' and follow from his lead. I believe he was our spiritual Brother, showing us our spiritual Selves. When we do realize and accept our own Christly identities as Sons and Daughters of the Almighty, we begin to experience the freedom and spiritual healings from earthly evils which Jesus and his disciples demonstrated. Now, I do not mean that we become Jesus. Jesus had a special mission to bring the Truth of spiritual, undying being to humanity. But Jesus was his earthly, finite name; the Christ was the universal, spiritual identity of all God's Sons and Daughters, which he was revealing to struggling humanity. Jesus was showing us that we are not, and never were, the children of the flesh; instead, he was showing us that we are the off-spring of God, Spirit, and belong to no other family tree, whatever, and whomever, we are erroneously believing ourselves to be. Physical existence is a state of self-deception. That's why Jesus and his disciples could spiritually heal. They knew that spiritual beings are never harmed or diseased in the first place, so they needed no actual healing change in the second place. Only the BELIEF in material being had to be healed for them; then the normality of health in the flesh could return to better pattern the divine truth about them—everlasting health and life in Spirit's substance. When we call upon God's deliverance and stand in faith of this divine, invisible presence with us, whatever material, so-called law or power that is opposed to the sovereignty and eternal control of God, is overturned. Once we shift our mental gears God-ward, we are then shown the way to overcome whatever threat is troubling us, or the threat simply disappears from our experience, without any help on our part. In spiritual fact, God, Spirit, doesn't allow Its everlasting children to be damaged in any way, shape, or form—ever. In our most trying times, we are still safe and sound, wherever and however we physically seem to be. We are really spiritual beings, not material beings trapped in finite body forms. Our spiritual lives are ever-lasting. Even physical death doesn't touch our true being. But in this human experience (where we seem to be spiritual beings trapped in finite, physical forms) our lives are made easier, healthier and more abundant by realizing our spiritual, Christly identities, (which Christ Jesus demonstrated for us) and know that God is supreme over all, on whatever level of thought we seem to exist upon. What I mean is this: our human experience is a temporary, collectively-mental dream of existence…it is NOT the truth of being. To deliver us from our illusions and delusions of materiality-as-reality, calling upon God's eternal love and protection of us brings change for the better into the collective, material dream. In other words: our own, individual, realization of spiritual reality then takes over our outward experience. The world of form changes back to harmony for us, even while we still appear to be fleshly creatures. It is like the modern day parable found in the story of the Wizard of Oz: Dorothy was never in Oz; but in her dream-state, she believed that she was. Thus, she had many trials and tribulations with the wicked witch to contend with in her dream (erroneous, lower level of perception). When a 'good' witch told her that she could go home (awaken) at any time, Dorothy mentally accepted this truth…and she awakened from the dream produced by her lower level of consciousness. Then, not only did the whole reality of Oz disappear for Dorothy, so did all the evils she had encountered in the 'land of Oz, which is symbolic of our own earthly experience. (In my articles, I often use this story because it incorporates all the aspects of material being and why one's level of consciousness of spiritual reality is so important.) By our own recognition of spiritual truth, rather than material beliefs, and by perceiving what Jesus was trying to teach us of our own Christ-identities, (spiritual identities) we change our own human experience back into the nature of 'heaven' and of the harmony that exists within the heavenly realm, which is here, but still invisible to our physical perception. We begin to perceive that Christ Jesus was our spiritual brother, who came into our collective dream of mortal existence, trying to show us our true Selves as God's own spiritual (not material) Son's and Daughters. Here is a biblical reference where Jesus once told someone that her own spiritual awareness was the agent of change from ill-health to her healing: "And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour." (Matthew 9: 20-22; KJV; my underlining for emphasis). Her own level of thought had risen to recognize the ever-present, spiritual power of God, which Jesus was relying upon to heal those around him. The kingdom of God and our everlasting harmony is with us forever even though we don't perceive it with our five, physical senses. In this collective dream of material existence, our perception of God's eternal presence and power over all creation is fleeting, at best. But whenever we activate our faith in it, the material circumstances change the outward circumstance of the collective, mental dream of materiality. Then we do seem to 'overcome the world' as Christ Jesus demonstrated and predicted for us, from within his own, great level of spiritual perception. So, when the winds of depression, war, sickness, insufficiency try to blow us down, it is so important to spiritualize our thinking so that the truth of God's ever-present love, control, abundance, and peace (which already exist in the kingdom of God) is just a faithful-thought away. God fights our battles for us by showing us that we're still in the invisible, harmonious realm of Spirit (heaven) no matter what is going on in the visible world of form and chaos. We do not deliver ourselves; God is the deliverer from all the bad situations the carnal mentality (collective belief in materiality) produces in the outer world of form. But God doesn't need to change anything. The Almighty's harmonious creation has never needed healing. It is our own faith in God's ever-presence and power that opens the door and allows the light of spiritual reality to come into our collective dream of life in matter, correcting it for the better. In this human experience (where we seem to be finite, physical beings with a spirit trapped inside) we are really the spiritual Sons and Daughters of God, with no relationship to the flesh whatsoever. Our laws are spiritual…not material. Our ever-lasting body substance is spiritual…not physical. God is the everlasting Source of every aspect of our being. To prove this in our daily lives, we have to stay aware of God's invisible presence and ultimate power to keep us safe, while still in this mental dream-state of material existence. Even while experiencing this human condition in thought, our Christly identities are still safe and sound, as we mentally sleep in this universal belief of materiality. Despite all physical appearances and threats of discord, we are still spiritually-sufficient, joyful, abundant and ever-lasting, right where and when we are fearing something 'out there' in the human scene. We only have to turn our thoughts God-ward to again become aware of spiritual existence and our lives in God, Spirit, with all the harmony and blessings that belong to us forever. For even physical death cannot touch us, anymore than the woes of the wicked witch, in the unreal dreamland of Oz, touched Dorothy. As God's own children, we cannot be imprisoned in finite forms. We only believe that we can. But to have a more harmonious time here, while in this collective dream of finite existence, we have to drive out of consciousness our beliefs in evil witches, hatred, poverty, sickness, and anything else that boasts power against God's sovereignty. By doing so, we open our individual consciousness to let in the light of spiritual existence and our true lives in God that have no end. And as Truth's light begins to enter our dream-state, changing it from bad to good, we, like Dorothy, awaken to find that we've never left our real Home to begin with. It was here, all along.
|
