Faith | The Shepherd’s love became real when the pain went away
When sick and in pain, I have found healing from turning to the ever-present love of God for comfort and help.
One evening, a couple of years ago, I became miserably ill in a short time. I am tossing and turning in bed, unable to sit still, and reeling from a splitting headache. I try to pray but find it impossible to think coherently.
I reach out to my wife for help and ask her to read me the 23rd Psalm, which is a song in the Bible that speaks of God’s dear love and care ready to meet any human need.
As my wife reads the first verse, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want,” the words, “I shall not want” arrest my attention. She continues reading, but the words, “I shall not want,” keep repeating in my mind.
These words made me think about how sheep in the time of the Psalmist depended entirely upon their shepherd for care. The shepherd was responsible for providing food, water, and protection from all enemies. The sheep never worried. The faithful shepherd took care of them and ensured that they never lacked—for anything.
I could have the same trust in my divine shepherd that these sheep had in their human shepherd, I began to see.
My divine shepherd is not a person standing guard with a staff. It is the power and presence of divine love at work on my behalf, as a child of God, one of God’s sheep, giving me the health, strength, and spiritual clarity I need to be free of pain and disease.
I suppose many people would reach for a drug to dull the pain when struggling as I was. But I was looking for more than a removal of pain. I was looking for spiritual insight that brought me closer to God and made me less susceptible to suffering in the future.
For over six decades, I have practiced Jesus Christ’s principles for prayer-based healing, as taught in the Bible, and during this time all my sicknesses have been healed through prayer alone, with no drugs. I was expecting the same again.
The words, “I shall not want,” kept rolling over in my mind. They reminded me that I have everything I needed to be healed. The same love that healed through Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, was in me now, able to remove fears, dissolve beliefs propping up the pain, and get my mind and body back into alignment with standards for good health.
My shepherd of divine love is with me, I am confident. I did not lack.
As I release all sense of want and accept that I have all I need to be well, a wave of peace sweeps through my thinking. It is the Christ, the love of God, I knew, doing what the heavenly shepherd does, taking care of me, bringing me comfort, and restoring health.
In moments, the intensity of the pain breaks. I am feeling better rapidly. The sickness is in fast retreat. I fall into a peaceful sleep and awake in the morning happy and well.
The love of my Shepherd took the sickness and pain away, and I was grateful.
Evan Mehlenbacher is a practitioner and teacher of Christian Science in Richland, and a member of the Christian Science Church in Pasco. Questions and comments should be directed to editor Lucy Luginbill in care of the Tri-City Herald newsroom, 4253 W. 24th Avenue, Kennewick, WA 99338. Or email lluginbill@tricityherald.com.
