Jer. 17: 7-8 (in part): “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, . . . and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” (Lesson citation #2)
The understanding that allows one to “not be careful in the year of drought” flows from the realization of God’s ever-present and tender, loving care of His beloved children. Upon reading these verses in Jeremiah, I was reminded of the courage and conviction of Rev. Severin E. Simonsen, as recorded in his book, From the Methodist Pulpit into Christian Science and How I Demonstrated the Abundance of Substance and Supply:
“My indebtedness was piling up rapidly,. . . We found that if we even glanced at the material side of the question, darkness, fear, and despair stood like hungry beasts ready to devour us; but they did not because we realized that – “He [God] is a shield unto them that put their trust in him (Prov. 30:5).”. . . . We realized that if we once began to curtail and economize in things we needed, that error, ere long, would manacle us with chains of limitation and despair. We therefore roused ourselves through faithful mental work, realizing more clearly the allness of God, and that our supply was not in matter or human personality, but in our dear heavenly Father, who, we knew, was abundantly able to furnish a table in the wilderness, and who was the same yesterday, today, and forever. So we decided to give our children, as well as ourselves, not only as good things as we had before coming into Christian Science, but a little better. By thus facing error fearlessly, we became conscious of greater liberty and freedom from a sense of limitation which was constantly biting at our heels.” (pp. 104-105)