YOURS CAN BE A LIFE OF PLENTY
Baba said, "There will never be any dearth or scarcity, regarding food and clothes in my devotee's home" in Sri Sai Satcharitra Ch.VI.
If we counter every doubt and fear of lack with the above statement, our mind is established in Truth and we become thoroughly integrated. This keeps ills away from us, on the one hand, and attracts good to us, on the other.
As soon as fear or doubt strikes at our heart, we must use sharp counter-stroke; and, in my own experience, there is nothing so effective as The Lord Will Provide. God is the one Source; God is the one Reality; God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Therefore, God's substance and supply can never fail. What is needed on our part is that we should live in the consciousness of unfailing Divine Supply. This we do by reminding ourselves that "the Lord will provide."
There are those who bravely face total lack of means and yet find all their needs abundantly supplied. What about those who are nearly always in a state of what will happen when the money they have at the moment will be spent? These dear souls reverse the teaching of Jesus who said, "Take no anxious thought for the morrow, for the morrow can take care of the things of itself," by thinking: "Whatever shall I do tomorrow, for by then the money to which I cling so tightly will have been spent?" Instead of looking to God, their Centre and inexhaustible Source, they look to material things such as saving, or to human resources, such as friends or employers, or people in office above them, etc., the consequence being in a state of poverty and fear of utter penury. "Oh, what shall I do!" then cry "The time will soon come when I shall be without any funds at all to depend upon." The result of such an attitude of mind is that they attract to themselves the very thing that they fear. Instead of attracting joyous abundance and prosperity they drive away the good which otherwise would come to them.
Without being aware of it, they are really confirmed negative thinkers. They are what Jung would probably describe as disintegrated personalities. Because of this, the joyous abundance which God has prepared for them tends to flee away from them while poverty is attracted. If they were given thousand Pounds today it would soon disappear: it would simply melt away in spite of their efforts to retain it. On the other hand, if their consciousness were to become changed, together with their habit of thinking, unlimited supply would be attracted to them, so that all their needs would be supplied in a joyous , carefree and abundant way.
The late Henry Victor Morgan told me once that he learnt most about the law of supply from a friend of his who did not possess a dollar to his name, but whose needs were always bountifully supplied. If this man had thought and said:" I haven't a dollar, what shall I do?" he would have been as poor as those who say:" What shall we do, we have nothing today, and what shall we do tomorrow?" The circumstances are similar, the difference is the attitude of mind. The former finds his needs supplied, day by day, and always the supplies abundantly adequate. The latter may find themselves in desperate need, simply because of their lack of faith and negative thinking. It is the attitude of mind which makes the difference- one attracts abundance, the other drives to away. Yet the circumstances are the same.
Probably the greatest mistake any of us can make is in thinking that it is our personal effort that supplies our material needs. We all of us must work. Those who live by faith, generally speaking, work harder than ordinary people. But they do not work in order to earn a living. Their supply comes from God. Their work is done as an act of service to the world, to their fellows, and to God, without any thought of reward. Consequently, it is of higher and better quality. The old idea of doing good for reward has to be relinquished. It has to be a gift of love on our part. We have to put God first, after which other things may be added. But we do not make it a condition that any thing should be added. We would not make a gift to a loved one, in order to make him or her give us one in return. We would want our gift to be entirely free from any ulterior motive, otherwise it would be a mere commercial transaction.
We are all familiar with the story told by George Muller of the man who toiled early and late to earn a bare pittance for his family. The man toiled, leaving God out of his calculations altogether. Yet, in spite of all his efforts, there was never any prosperity in the home.
George Muller told him that if he were to work less, and spend a certain time each day in prayer and the reading of Scriptures he would find himself better off, and that joyful prosperity would come to his home. The explanation of this that through prayer and the reading of Scripture the man would have come in touch with the One Source of all abundance and substance. Also his brain would have become less numbed with overwork so that he could have turned out more work, and of a better quality in less time and with fatigue.
We are all tempted to spend too much time in toil instead of making living contact with our Divine Source. We are also tempted to forget that "the Lord will provide."
(Written by: HENRY THOMAS HAMBLIN)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment