Divine Calls

“These last two calls, the call that appears in the form of a sign and the call that comes in the form of a demand, are about specifics in a way that the call that comes as an announcement is not. They represent the remnants of learning from the past, the final breaking of old patterns. They may seem to signal difficult times, but they are times that must be gotten through and lessons that need to be allowed to pass through you. (Treatises of A Course of Love: Treatise on the Nature of Unity and Its Recognition, 5.6)”

Affirmation: “I will be patient through any hard times.”

Reflections:

1 – Signs / Demands

Jesus mentions several different types of calls here: a sign, a demand, and an announcement. The first two represent a holdover from the past, but we must integrate what they mean to us. Signs sometimes are misinterpreted, because in a certain frame of mind, everything can seem to be a sign. How do we interpret something as a genuine sign? If our minds are calm, we will discern through contemplation of the supposed sign. And we will be certain to realize that no harm is coming to anyone. A demand does not often seem as though it is the way that Jesus would interact with us. But perhaps we have gone so deeply into madness–all of us–that there comes a time when Jesus must make a request for a change, perhaps a sudden change. We may not welcome a demand, but if we are certain of the Source, we will know that the demand is for our own good.

2 – Announcements

Announcements are more benign. And welcome, given our state of mind. We are being told something that we need to know.

3 – Different Types of Call

Can we tell the difference between signs, demands, and announcements? Probably we can, but the discernment may take some calm reflection, and we may need to give it some time. We do not automatically know everything now, even though Jesus has called us The Accomplished. We are still on the pathway. And the pathway may seem long and tortuous. It is not really, but then we have gone deep into madness (from A Course in Miracles). We need some time, and some gentle pressure, to bring ourselves out to sanity.

4 – Difficult Times

Jesus indicates here a difficult concept: that we may know difficult times. Certainly we do not welcome this. But, just like grieving over a lost or dead individual, we must go through the experiences ahead of us. We cannot go around, over, or under those experiences. The only way is through them. And Jesus will be with us, as long as we want him there. He tells us in A Course in Miracles that we can imagine that he is holding our hand as we walk along, and he concludes that this will be no idle fantasy.

5 – Jesus

Nobody in this world can imagine how Jesus could seemingly be in two (and more) places at once. But he has transcended all barriers, and I have enough to faith to believe that if he says it, it is true. Let your heart tell you if he is near. Many individuals have sensed his presence over long years, and there are many reports of his presence in inspirational literature published long before ACIM and ACOL. So his presence as our healer seems assured. I would rather suspend doubt, and allow myself to be comforted, than to cling to an intellectual misgiving. Again, let your heart tell you that what you are experiencing, in feeling Jesus nearby, is true. The heart does not need the proof that the mind does.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would choose to follow Your call, but, in my weakness, I ask that the difficult times, if they come, be brief and easy. I do not want to suffer, though I do not fear death. I would follow Your call insofar as I can discern what it is that I am to do. I know that You would lead me only to the good and worthy. There is a reason that I sense a call, if it comes, and that reason is one that I will understand with my heart–even if no person close to me understands at all. I can follow the beat of a different drummer, and that will make all the difference in my little world.

I thank You that I did once, clearly, hear a call, and I thank You that You saw to it that I stayed true to what I perceived. But I do not want to go back to those difficult days. I thank You that times are easier now, and I thank You that Your words through Jesus in channeled writings have shown a way that is meant to be happy for all. Happiness is a worthy goal, and I would enjoy Your Being and Your nod toward happiness with all my mind and heart. May the calls that come to me be gentle and peaceful. And in advance I thank You for this.

Amen