Neddy, a childhood friend, caught up with me through Facebook.  Even though I could not remember her presence, I felt her loving spirit.  We laughed like old friends for hours about the memories that we shared about our life in the Jefferies Housing Project in Detroit — forty years ago.  Friendship is good that way, and lasting.  It made me remember the hope that carried us through the appearance of lack.  Back then, we didn’t need as much in the external to know inside that God was always lifting us up the rough side of the mountain.  Spirit was always calling us to demonstrate Absolute Good.  All we had to do was stand on the shoulders of God and peer out over the freeway at the vibrant colors of golden rays turning indigo skies magical colors in the Detroit sky — just glowing with the rising sun of a new day.

We could see past appearances and feel the dawning of divine ideas and dreams awakening so well back then — that it makes me wonder what ever happened to hope.  Have all the trappings of good times and the parties of plenty made it even more difficult to trust that we are not controlled by appearances — good or bad?  Some will tell you that the stock market has plunged; 401(k) pension plans have diminished;  old jobs have been lost and new jobs are hard to find; merchandise isn’t moving; and the real estate market is in a slump.  But those are the appearances of things.  The Psalmist asks, “if the Lord is the Strength of my life, of whom [and what] shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27)

There is nothing to fear when we realize that God gives us all of the Strength that we need.  When we stand in the Spirit, we stand on the shoulders of the universe, realizing that our spiritual roots reach down to the belly of the earth but do not stop there.  We realize that the earth, like the rest of the universe, girds us with a strength and a power that never loses its connection.  We “stand on our own two feet.”  We “stand up for ourselves.”  We “stand up for what we believe in.”  We “stand our ground” with purpose, power and vision.

We see this in the story of David and Goliath.  Goliath represents physical strength and prowess.  Goliath is what we see in the flesh — the circumstances that appear so much greater than us.  In the physical realm, if we judge by appearances, we believe that we cannot overcome what is bigger than us.  But when we dig deep, we find the spiritual strength that gives us the ability to fight the good fight.

Strength is really a conscious decision to be One with Absolute Good — no matter what the outer circumstances are, the present is where Absolute Good is.  Our helmets and armor and javelins and swords are how we stand in consciousness.

It is important that David, a boy, came forward.  We have to contrast David — the small and seemingly insignificant aspects of our own lives  — with the Goliath of lack, the Goliath of loss, the Goliath of fear — and use the power of the “little” that we have.   David was saying, I don’t have a spear and I don’t have a helmet.   I don’t  even have a shield.  But I’ve got my raggedly shepherd’s cloth.  I’ve got my staff.  I’ve got my slingshot — that I have fashioned from a tree branch.  I have the earth under my feet — and all that the earth is made of.  But most importantly I stand on the strength of God — a love that is invincible, a power that never leaves me, a protector that can never be defeated.

William Stafford says, “I have woven a parachute out of everything broken.”  Patrick Overton says:  “When you come to the edge of all the light that you have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, believe that one of two things will happen to you: either there will be something solid for you to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.”  The Bible says put on the whole armor of God.  Stand on victory.  Stand on faith.  Stand on power.  Stand on strength.

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.  Without hesitation, David ran to face his adversary head on!  He didn’t have to be as big or as tall as Goliath because he stood on the shoulders of God.  Reaching into his bag for one of the stones that he had gathered, David took it out and struck the Philistine on the forehead.  The stone sank into Goliath’s forehead, and Goliath fell facedown on the ground.  The fear, the doubt, the lack, the limitation were defeated in a single shot — by a kid and a slingshot.

Metaphysically, we can say that David — spiritual strength — struck the center of those blockages on our path that seem so insurmountable.  The biblical witness is firm that Goliath was struck in the center of his head — that part of our body connected to the pineal gland where the third eye of spiritual discernment gives us vision beyond flesh.  It is easy to think of David and Goliath as separate beings, but in our Oneness, we know that we are all parts of a whole.  If there is anything that needs conquering in our consciousness, we have the ability to conquer it — to stop standing in our own way and defeat the monsters of our own making.

The story of David and Goliath reminds us that we stand on something greater than what is in this world — a power that is greater than religion.  As One, we are greater than our differences.  We are greater than a name or a group that defines itself as Christian or Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist or Jew.  When we see with Spirit, we know that we stand on the power of Spirit.  Spirit is not locked in a steeple or a bell or pew or a pulpit.  Spirit is infinite, inexhaustible source and endless potential.  Spirit is divine ideas and unceasing love.  Spirit is always blessing us — despite the way things appear in the external.

Spirit gives us the strength to ask the universe for whatever it is that we desire.  We just have to be strong enough to trust that there is nothing that God cannot do through us.  Nothing is too big for God to bless us with.  Nothing is too big for God to remove.  Nothing is powerful enough to block us from the attainment of our good.  All we have to do is stand on the shoulders of the omnipotence of God.  When we do, we can look above the row houses and the high rises and the by-ways and the bridges — and see that there is a vast expanse of Kingdom that awaits our gifts and talents.  There is a Universe calling us past the battleground of our fears to re-connect with its inexhaustible supply.

Namaste,

Reverend Cecilia Loving

About SPIRITMUV:  Spiritmuv® is a trans-denominational church, which means that it transcends the confines of religion and teaches unconditional love for one another regardless of race, creed, culture, or religion.   At the heart of its teachings is what Jesus taught — that we love one another, as well as the community that Mahatma Ghandi inspired when he said, “I am a Christian and a Muslim and a Hindu and a Jew.”  Reverend Cecilia Loving is the founder and creator of Spiritmuv, which was formed in 2007.  Services are held for an hour every Sunday, from 2:30 P.M. to 3:30 P.M. at the Unity Center of NYC, located at 213 West 58th Street.

Rev. Loving, author of Prayers for Those Standing in the Edge of Greatness, is the sole owner, creator and administrator of God is a Brown Girl Too®, which holds annual retreats and workshops.  The next God is a Brown Girl Too Retreat will be held April 1-3, 2011, at the Mariandale Retreat and Conference Center.

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