Midweek Fait Lift
December 22, 2021
The Joy of Taking Action!
Rev. Deb Hill-Davis
Daily Reflection
December 5, 2021
Jeremiah Thoronka, aware that only a small percentage of his fellow Sierra Leone residents had electricity, noticed how many cars were passing by his house. He began educating himself about kinetic energy – the energy of motion – and, at the age of 21, developed a system that produces electricity by drawing kinetic energy from moving vehicles. His device powers 150 homes and 15 schools.
“Your life is a reflection of how effectively you balance your potential and your energy.” - Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience
Affirmative prayer: I am made of pure energy, moving through this day with the love of God. I give thanks that the Divine endowed me with limitless possibilities, and I am awake to the intrinsic goodness of life that is mine to uniquely fulfill. I have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this. Thank you, God, forever. Amen.
We are at the 9th Condition of a Miracle and the Sunday of Joy in Advent and they are intimately connected, just as we learned last week that gratitude is the basis for a loving heart. We are using the story of the Loaves and Fishes, Matthew 14:13-23 to explore, unpack and understand the 12 Conditions for a miracle. The words of verse 19 have been especially powerful in this process. Last week, we explored the power of gratitude and blessing. This week, the next words in verse 19 are “and broke” which refers to Jesus having blessed the bread, he broke the bread and continued to break it to distribute to the people.
Now, there were 5000 people there, and having no attachment to the outcome of how this was going to happen, acting completely on faith, Jesus, the master teacher, and miracle worker, just began breaking the bread and spreading it, giving it to the crowd. The incredible power in this story is that Jesus took action! Anchored in his Divine nature, grounded in faith, the conviction of things not yet seen, he acted, he acted as if this was going to be enough! The power of bringing about a miracle is acting with conviction! And that is what Jesus did.
Dr. Todd Michael, on page 128 of The Twelve Conditions of a Miracle says this about miracle workers:
The most important thing to remember about acting “as if” is that it begins with “acting.” Miracle workers don’t just say prayers and visualize. They act. They do things. They break through the barriers of inertia and doubt and get moving. Miracle workers know that if they do not act, no one will. And they also know that when they act, they have to act with perfect confidence.
Thank you, Dr. Michael, for the clarity of purpose, intention, and action that you describe here. It is also worth noting that when the energy of taking action begins moving, the Universe also funnels its energy into action in the form of happy coincidences, abundant supply, and creative ideas and inspiration.
We, in our human consciousness, can get mired down in our overworking thinking brain which can conjure up all the reasons why what we want to do won’t work, isn’t the right time, won’t be enough, and yadayadayada….right? A powerful affirmation that can serve as an antidote to this is to simply say, “Actually, I can!” In the gospel story of the loaves and fishes, Jesus doesn’t miss a beat, he just starts breaking the bread. He takes action to meet the needs of the people. “Actually, I can!”
Our 5th Unity Principle is exactly that kind of direction. It states “Through thoughts, words, and actions, we live the Truth we know.” It is essential to take our thoughts and words and put them into action, otherwise, nothing in us or in our world moves or grows or changes. We are all filled with this Divine potential energy and we are charged by Spirit to put that energy into action, into motion in this world, to call it forth and multiply it, multiply the good that it can do. Miracles begin in our minds and hearts and end in our hands and feet, taking action as we are called to do. It is often a leap of faith!
One important factor that Dr. Michael emphasizes is the role of time. This is an important consideration because sometimes, we delay taking action for so long, we then expect an immediate outcome, which is not how it works. We say all things happen in Divine Order and in God’s time and then we try to control just how that is going to look and how long it takes, right! We don’t like to wait and we don’t like the Divine Chaos that often comes before the Divine Order.
Sometimes it does work that way, it does happen very quickly in Divine Order, once you decide to take action. My experience with that was my decision to leave our 2019 Florida vacation to go be with my dad as he was in the dying process. I did not want to believe it was the end for him and changed my departure date three times. I purchased the kind of ticket whereby I could do that….good thing, eh? When I finally got true clarity that this was the end for him, the actions I took unfolded quickly and truly in Divine Order. I arrived in his room just in time for him to see and hug me and say “Oh, you’re here!” with actual joy at seeing me. His hug was exceptionally strong for a dying man, and the joy on his face I will never forget. Action and joy are intimately linked in experiencing a miracle.
This business of taking action can be unnerving and somewhat scary at times. It is literally a leap of faith. There is a very powerful affirmation of faith in Hebrews 11:1-2 and it was a favorite of Charles Fillmore, and it reads thus:
The Meaning of Faith
11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval.
We take that leap of faith knowing that what we are taking action toward will manifest, one way or another. We stand in the conviction of what we don’t yet see. And here is the hardest part. We trust that all things are working together for the manifestation of our highest good, even when we can’t see, understand or know-how that is happening. We just pray, listen and show up to do our part to act as if our miracle will unfold!
When little kids plant seeds in cups in the classroom to grow plants, they learn to practice patience and faith that something will germinate and grow. It is oh so tempting to pull up the dirt, look under the surface and see if anything is “happening.” Patience and faith ask the kids, teacher, and parents to wait and see what will unfold. And all that is needed is to supply the necessary conditions for something to happen to the seed: soil, sunlight, water, and time. Have you ever over-watered a plant or tried a 24-hour plant light to force growth? Not the best outcome, eh? Sometimes there are delays and mid-course changes are needed, such as changing the location of the seedlings and eventually re-potting them or planting them outdoors when the time is right.
What is critical is that during that time of waiting, the kids, teacher, and parents don’t misperceive the situation as “nothing is happening!” The truth is that all kinds of things that we cannot perceive are happening. We had the opening story of the young man in Sierra Leone who studied the kinetic energy of cars in motion so that he could convert it into electricity. My hunch tells me that there were a lot of trial and error attempts before he was fully successful. Faith keeps us going and keeps us from giving up, even when there are setbacks and apparent roadblocks, and failed attempts.
We are in the Advent week of Joy. The experience of Joy frequently comes after a time of sadness, struggle, and letting go. When we take action in Divine Order and can accept that our dream, our hearts desires will unfold in God’s time, not ours, then we truly experience joy, unfettered joy, pure joy! I can only imagine the joy of the people in Sierra Leone who were finally able to have electricity and light and clean energy due to the actions of Jeremiah Thoronka. Imagine the joy when all the lights came on and the people were no longer in the dark! It truly was and is a miracle. Kind of like when you plug in the Christmas lights outside and they actually work! Well, not quite, but the affirmation, “Actually, I can!” certainly applies
I love this statement by Paramhansa Yogananda: “A saint is a sinner who never gave up.” We are in the season of Christmas, the season of giving, of birthing the Christ within us, of taking leaps of faith. To have the joy of Christmas, we first have to do the work, both the inner and the outer work. If we do nothing, then nothing is what happens. Dr. Michael says on p. 134:
Miracles aren’t magic. You have to come through with your end of the deal if you expect the universe to do its part. The only part that is magic is that when you do your share of the real work involved, the universe will return your efforts ten times over. It’s one of the best deals anywhere.
It is clear to me that taking action with faith and having deep gratitude results in great joy. That is what happened for Mary, the mother of Jesus when she said yes to the angel Gabriel. Let it be so for us. When the Universe calls us to action, let us say in one voice, “Actually, we can!”
Blessings on the Path,
Rev. Deb