Golden Text: Psalm 34 : 22
The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
“Desolate” in the 1828 Webster’s:
1. Destitute or deprived of inhabitants; desert; uninhabited; denoting either stripped of inhabitants, or never having been inhabitated; as a desolate isle; a desolate wilderness.
2. Laid waste; in a ruinous condition; neglected; destroyed; as desolate altars; desolate towers.
3. Solitary; without a companion; afflicted.
4. Deserted of God; deprived of comfort.
From Mark 13 (the readings for the February 4th, 2017 Bible Study):
14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
I had been praying about this verse from Mark 13, but then the Golden Text this week gave me much comfort.
I know what it is like to have an existence “in a ruinous condition” and to feel “without a companion” and “deprived of comfort.” I know enough of desolation to know I don’t want it. Therefore, to avoid desolation I need to trust God, since “none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.”
But it is more than just avoiding desolation; Christian Science teaches that we must know God’s universe is perfect. If I see desolation in the world, “standing where it ought not,” I can’t allow myself to get down about it or drawn into it — I must work to purify my consciousness and see mankind and the world correctly. I must “flee to the mountains,” the higher thoughts of Truth, Life, and Love, until I see that God’s reality contains no desolation, and that there is only His reality.
This gives me more appreciation of why Christ Jesus went up to the mountain when he needed to retreat from the worldly thought. It also gives me great gratitude for Christian Science, for this church, for practitioner support, and for the blessing it is to be a part of this mission! Thank you!