Variables, and worrying about the unknown
Before I came to have an understanding of Christian Science, I used to worry that I could never account for all the variables that might affect the life and safety of both myself and my children. It really troubled me.
Since then, I have learned that God is in control of everything. For a while I thought that meant that He knew all the variables and would warn us of them. Lately, I have gained a different understanding of this from the following two quotes:
The first is from James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Second, Martha Wilcox wrote on page 216 of Addresses: “It is incorrect, not to say foolish, for a Christian Scientist to imagine all sorts of evil, and then to proceed to work against the creations of his own imagination. Evil or error or belief is not something, but is always nothing.”
It made me realize that God is in such control that there are no variables, there is only Truth, Life, and Love. Anything else is an error, and including any imagining that there could be any variableness to God's creation.
Therefore, in order to worry about the unknown two things have to happen.
First:
One must allow their trust to slip away from God, which is to say, Truth and Love. If we are indeed trusting God, then we know He gives us only good, and He has all things under His control. All we need to do is patiently wait for divine inspiration to guide us moment to moment. We take joy in that, and are grateful for it. No need to think beyond right now, unless we feel inspired to prepare for something coming up. Even then, “preparation” is still at God's direction. Any attempt at getting ahead of God is error.
Second:
Once we stop trusting God — in order to then start worrying about the unknown — we begin using imagination to populate the now and the future with negative outcomes. Once the human mind is allowed to run rampant, the bogey man is under every bed and utter ruin is just around every corner and every part of our life and our body is out to kill us. Nothing is ever good enough, and joy and hope fade away.
The solution to not worry about the unknown:
Trust in God. Anything that is real, but unknown by us, simply hasn't been unfolded yet. If it hasn't been unfolded to us by God, then we can be sure we aren't required to reflect it yet. We certainly have enough for today being unfolded to us. If that doesn't keep you busy enough, then pretty soon God is sure to give you more. If we are not doing as we should — and we refuse the warnings we are given — then it will be taken away. Let God give you your daily bread and work to be satisfied with it. This is all you need. Just focus on the constants: Truth and Love, and how we can reflect these qualities in all we say and do.