What’s God got to do with it?

Chelsea Kearns - Adapted from The Christian Science Journal, February 2007.

I remember distinctly the feelings I had in my mid-20s when I felt a lot of pressure to be moving in a specific direction with a career in mind. I felt that pressure all around me. And although it was coming mostly from the outside — from some of my friends and family — much of it was also self-inflicted. I racked my brain trying to come up with a path that I was interested in pursuing. And I tried to envision myself in a lifelong career (this was particularly hard to imagine).

I prayed a lot about the situation, as much for peace of mind as for guidance. And I found a great sense of freedom in the realization that I could choose a job that I loved, or work for an organization I supported, and not necessarily have to go down a predetermined career track. As long as I let my inner moral compass, or spiritual intuition, guide my decisions, I had a right to be satisfied and at peace with my choices. We all do.

Shortly after this realization hit me, a friend suggested I apply for a position in the Midwest as a boarding school dorm mother. After initially resisting this idea, I had a distinct mental message over and over again that I was supposed to look into it. This is a perfect example of having no idea why I would be directed somewhere, or what my purpose was, but following my spiritual intuition anyway. Mary Baker Eddy suggested that we each have a holy purpose. She wrote in Science and Health,

Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear (p. 506)

To me, this says that we may not understand immediately what it is, but yes, it will be clear. I’m so grateful I listened to that message, because it led me to the most fulfilling position I’ve had.Even if we ignore our intuition and take what in hindsight seems to have been the wrong path, there’s a spiritual law that always puts us back on track. Early last year I watched a movie called Sliding Doors that illustrates this idea really well. Although Sliding Doors doesn’t explore how spiritual intuition guides each of us, or how our life is governed by God and not by chance, it does show the good that is waiting for us when we decide to move forward and not let the past get us down. It reassured me of the spiritual truth that no matter what path I take, even if it seems out of the blue, unclear, or not of my choosing, there is a divine law operating in my life that puts me in the perfect situation to bless others and be blessed.

I think that this message is taken to a much deeper, spiritual level in an article called “God’s Law of Adjustment,” by Adam Dickey, an early Christian Scientist. He wrote: “The most satisfying and comforting sense of peace and joy always follows the willingness on our part to allow God to control every situation for us through His law of adjustment. When we understand that infinite Mind is the ruler of the universe, that every idea of God is forever in its proper place, that no condition or circumstance can arise whereby a mistake can find lodgment in God’s plan, then we have the complete assurance that God is capable of adjusting everything as it should be” (Journal, January 1916, pp. 561–562).

I’ve also found that as I become more in tune with my Father-Mother God, and make it a practice to ask Him/Her what I should be doing (even for the little things), I hear those answers a lot more clearly and quickly. The Apostle Paul assures that “…all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). It’s really comforting to know that we all get to carry out this purpose in our unique and individual ways. You can trust your intuition to tell you what that is.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 at 8:36 am and is filed under Career. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.