Expectancy and Consent

I think that I have gathered sufficient evidence in my life to be able to claim I have a truism. And this is it: There are two elements of a successful venture:

• One – you expect that good will happen and
• Two - you give your consent.
  

Expect good.

Some time ago, a friend invited me to hear a popular evangelical minister. Out of curiosity I went. The place was packed with at least a couple of thousand people and the minister had the stage with a band. What I remembered most from that evening was that at one point, everyone was standing up, swaying and saying or shouting “Jesus, Jesus!”

I looked behind me at this wave of arms. What struck me was this beautiful, openness to the One who was worshipped. I looked ahead and to the sides of me. More swaying arms. There was such clarity and purity of desire. People’s guards were down. There was no agenda, but just straightforward worship and immense expectancy to feel a holy presence. Some people were crying, others were laughing, many just quietly swaying and praying. Yes, I know, some may say that people were just getting caught up in a type of mob mentality. But you could not deny the motive and the depth and the hope that was at the epicenter of that movement of thought.

It is an understatement to say that they expected to feel God’s presence.

Give your consent.

There is a oft-told story of the time that the extension of The Mother Church in Boston was being built. Deadlines were tight and not adjustable. The person in charge of overseeing the construction, James Rome, prayed throughout its building. After it was built, he wrote a letter to Mary Baker Eddy which said, in part,

At first I thought that…it (meeting the construction deadlines) seemed impossible… (but then) I saw at once that somebody had to wake up. I raised my eyes, and the conviction that the work would be accomplished came to me so clearly…. One feature about the work interested me. I noticed that as soon as the workmen began to admit that the work could be done, everything seemed to move as by magic; the human mind was giving its consent. This taught me that I should be willing to let God work. I have often stood under the great dome, in the dark stillness of the night, and thought, "What cannot God do?" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Miscellany, p.60)

I have heard quotes from other notable thinkers that echo this idea. Expecting that you can accomplish the good you hope for and then, admitting that it can be done. Expectation and consent. Winners every time. (See also Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, p.394)

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