September 2, 2015

Subject: Recuperation

Golden text: Isaiah 38:20

The Lord will save me, and we will play my music on stringed instruments all the days of our lives, at the house of the Lord.

II Kings 20: 1-7*

In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” ² Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, ³ “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. ⁴ And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: ⁵ “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, ⁶ and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” ⁷ And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”

II Kings 20:8-17

 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” ⁹ And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” ¹⁰ And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” ¹¹ And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

From 21^st Century Science and Health

Any skepticism in regard to the pathology and theology of divine Science comes from being unfamiliar with Mind. Skepticism is also occasioned by an unawareness of the recuperative energies of Truth.

Knowledge of error and how it operates must precede the understanding of Truth. When false human beliefs learn even a little of their own falsity they begin to disappear.

Mind is the natural stimulus of the body, but human thinking, taken at its best, does not promote health or happiness. Tell the sick that they can meet disease fearlessly, if they only realize that divine Love gives them all power over every physical action and condition.

If it becomes necessary to startle human mind in order to break its dream of suffering, urgently and forcefully tell your patient that they must wake up. Turn the patient’s gaze from the false evidence of physical sense to the harmonious facts of Soul and spirituality. Tell them that they suffer only as the mentally ill suffer, from false beliefs. The only difference is, some mental health disorders imply belief in a pathological change in the brain, while physical ailments (so-called) arise from the thinking that other portions of the body are disordered. Disorder is a word which conveys the true definition of all human belief in ill-health or disturbed harmony. Should you thus startle human mind in order to remove its erroneous belief, afterwards make known to the patient your motive for this shock. Show the patient that the mental jolt was to facilitate recovery.

Isaiah 38:14-20

A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

¹⁴ Like a swallow or a crane I chirp;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!
¹⁵ What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
I walk slowly all my years
because of the bitterness of my soul.

¹⁶ O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.
Oh restore me to health and make me live!
¹⁷ Behold, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but in love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
¹⁸ For Sheol does not thank you;
death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope
for your faithfulness.
¹⁹ The living, the living, he thanks you,
as I do this day;
the father makes known to the children
your faithfulness.

²⁰ The Lord will save me,
and we will play my music on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
at the house of the Lord.

From 21^st Century Science and Health

By indisputably giving power to disorder, a large majority of doctors depress mental energy, which is the only real recuperative power. If we admit that some bodily condition is beyond the control of Mind, we become more vulnerable. Don’t give the upper hand to matter, it’s discouraging. It’s similar to advising a person who is down in the world, not to bother overcoming their difficulties. The better approach is to apply the knowledge that we can accomplish the good we hope for. This stimulates the system to act in the direction which Mind points out.

Experience has proved the fallacy of material systems in general. The theories of temporal systems are sometimes destructive, and to deny them is better than affirming them. Will you urge people to let evils overcome them? Would you assure a person that all misfortunes are from God, against whom human beings should not fight? Will you tell the sick that their condition is hopeless, unless it can be aided by a drug, operation, or different climate? Are temporal means the only refuge from fatal chances? Is there no divine permission to conquer disorder of every kind with harmony, with Truth and Love?

If arrogance, superstition, or any error prevents the honest recognition of benefits received, this will be a hindrance to the recovery of the sick and the success of the student.

We should remember that Life is God, and that God is omnipotent.

Luke 17: 11-19

On the way to Jerusalem [Jesus] was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance ¹³ and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴ When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

From 21^st Century Science and Health

Why pray for the recovery of the sick, if you are without faith in God’s willingness and ability to heal?

Does Deity help one worshipper, but not another, even if they offer the same measure of prayer? In divine Science, where prayers are mental, all may profit from God, as “ready to help when we need him.”[1] Love is impartial and universal in its spiritualization and generosity. The sick can recover when they pray, or are prayed for.

A moral issue may hinder the recovery of the sick. Lurking error, lust, envy, revenge, malice, or hate will perpetuate or even create the belief in disease. Errors of all sorts gravitate in this direction. Your true course is to destroy the foe and leave the field to God, Life, Truth, and Love, remembering that God and God’s ideas alone are real and harmonious.

We cannot be mesmerized by the flesh or hypnotized by human mind while practicing the Science of Truth. Truth cannot be reversed, but the reverse of error is true. An improved conviction cannot retrograde. When Christ, Truth, changes a human mortal conviction of sin or sickness into a better conviction, then thought melts into spiritual understanding, and sin, disease, and death disappear. Truth, Love, gives human beings temporary food and clothing until the temporal, transformed with the ideal, disappears, and we are clothed and fed spiritually. St. Paul says, “Work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).”[2] Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”[3]

Some people respond slowly to the touch of Truth. Some people feel Truth’s touch without a struggle. Many people are reluctant to admit that they have responded to Truth; however, if they don’t admit their improvement, evils boasting will shout over good.

Let spiritual perception be our guide, which in turn results in an improved experience. Selflessness and purity are connected to a better life. Fanaticism and self-satisfied devotion do not reveal spirituality. God is not influenced by human beings, no matter how radical you are. The divine ear is not an auditory nerve. The Divine is the all-hearing and all-knowing Mind, recognizing and supplying our every need.

*“Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

** Text from 21^st Century Science and Health, copyrighted by Cheryl Petersen.

[1] Ps. 46:1 (NASB)

[2] Phil. 2:12 (Amplified)

[3] Luke 12:32