“Giving Up Our Beliefs in Illness and Disease” by Rev. Mark Stuefloten 3/14/2021
There are times we may feel disappointed in our results from our spiritual practice. Our progress may make it seem to us that, at this rate of progress, “I’ll never become enlightened.”
The good news is that the saints and masters, since time began, have had the same thoughts, struggles and setbacks as we do. They continued their daily practice, and waited and watched for that divine time when they would be right to become aware of their true being and spiritual enlightenment.
Today we are focusing on our beliefs about illness and disease, and how they stand in the light of truth. Are we willing to give up our old ideas about ourself and our healing for the realization of our oneness and wholeness in God? In this Lenten Season we are asking ourselves to do just that.
Jesus the Christ, in his day, was well known for healing individuals of all kinds of illness.
Jesus knew that these individuals, in truth, had only one thing wrong, and that was their belief in sickness, disease and illness. They believed they had a chronic, crippling, or life-threatening illness. Some people Jesus healed were people who believed they had deformities they thought were incurable.
In Luke 19:2-3 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and not for the press, because he was little of stature. He could not see Jesus coming down the road because he was so short. So, what he did was to climb up into a large sycamore tree. When Jesus saw him up in the tree Jesus called for Zacchaeus to come down, and Jesus rewarded Zacchaeus for his faith and efforts by inviting him to dine with him that day.
Also, in scripture we have the story about a lame man healed. Jesus said to the man to rise and take up your bed and walk. Quickly, before their eyes, the withered leg was restored. This healing didn’t take years, though maybe to build the faith took years. Like Zacchaeus, the lame man’s faith in Jesus may have been building in his consciousness from hearing the stories, but the actual healing was in moments. Jesus’ name and fame as a healer often preceded him, and the crowds of people trying to see him and touch him had great expectations when he arrived.
This we call spiritual healing. The lame man’s consciousness was lifted above the worldly thoughts and beliefs - to his true spiritual nature. We call this a miracle. Yet behind every miracle is a truth principle in action.
Nona Brooks writes in her book Mysteries, in the chapter, The Mystery of Healing, “Divine Science is revealing to us two things: first, that healing is not a physical process, but spiritual realization; and second, that health is not a condition of physical well-being only, but the realization of a state of wholeness in the individual. Healing is the turning from the belief in disease to the realization of God’s Presence and Perfect Activity. God is health. Since God is health and God is omnipresent, what is there to be healed? There is only one condition to be healed - our misconceptions.”
We have believed our bodies to be of matter, solid matter, and that we are nothing more than a body. And, when the body ceases to function, then we cease to exist.
Emmet Fox, has written that, even in the womb, our consciousness is creating the body. The body is a manifestation of our consciousness.
Our work is to realize the truth of who we are. Our words we use to describe our modes or conditions we are experiencing must be of not how we feel or the condition we are in, but to say what we know is true.
Rev. Roy Eugene Davis said, “Say how you want to feel or should feel.”
Don’t say “I am”, with a negative statement. Always say “I am good.”
Never say you have an illness or disease. Say how you ought to be. “I am good.”
You will be telling the truth because the real you is unchanging, eternally good.
If you do experience an illusion of an illness or disease stand on Truth.
I AM WHOLE AND COMPLETE.
I AM CREATED IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD.
IN GOD THERE IS ONLY GOOD.
Our Divine Science Teaching tells us the first thing to do is to understand there is only good and as good.
Create a positive response to any negative thought, feeling or condition. Write a positive affirmation to respond with, keep it with you, and when anything negative arises read it out loud to yourself.
Change your vibration by humming a happy, uplifting tune.
I AM WHOLE AND COMPLETE IN GOD.
We are told in the Bible that hearing the truth builds your faith. By saying the truth, you are affirming what is true, and you are hearing the truth, so your faith is building stronger.
Until we are spiritually enlightened we must practice our faith by regular meditation, studying scripture, practicing the presence of God, lessons in Truth, prayer, and service.
Now I want to give you a key to living on a higher plane, living in spirit. By putting your focus on things of the spirit, you are free from the illusion of material views and the effects of it.
In Romans 8:6 St Paul tells us, “To be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
In Philippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent, or praiseworthy, think about such things and the God of peace will be with you.”
Focus on what is working right for you in your life.
St. Paul knew that the starting point for our behavior is feeding the mind with good things.
Positive life affirming thoughts create positive life affirming actions.
That manifests a life that is God-centered, and forward looking.
By doing these practices your consciousness will be open to receive more and more God- awareness, and you will realize you are living on a higher plane of existence.
So begin cultivating your consciousness to open up to experiencing who you truly are.
Christian Larson a New Thought teacher said:
“Live on the good side, the bright side, the true side of everything.”
Amen,
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