Living without fear with a complete trust in the Divine may be a search that all of us who are on the spiritual path aspire to. But to say I have attained a complete trust in the Divine leaves me with the false belief that there is nothing further for me to learn or to grow to.
We have erroneously been taught that we are only humans. Since Jesus, there have been a few who have evolved to a higher awareness of our true identity, which is a Divine expression of Spirit. They have had the task of continuing the message of a Divine Presence and power. Unfortunately, we mostly put our trust in the earthly realm, such as our jobs, businesses, families, friends, doctors and our bodies. The truth is that that Divine Presence is our one and only Source of good.
Since I have become more aware of this truth I have learned, as the scriptures admonish us, not to place my trust in man who breathes through his nostrils. This is not a negative connotation, but rather a helpful directive that will guide us in experiencing more success-filled and joyous lives.
I am sure that we all have had the experience of expecting someone to assist us in some way, yet our expectations were not met. We must acknowledge that the only two things on the manifest plane that we can truly trust is change and death. And so when we come to the question of trusting anyone or anything that is of the visible, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. That leaves us to seek help from the other side, which is the invisible or spiritual side of life.
I have had so many experiences that, due to my trust (it’s not complete because I do recognize that there is still more growth for me to attain), allowed me to recognize that there is an invisible “something” that responds to my needs and desires. The only requirement at those moments of need was my willingness to acknowledge the presence and to trust at whatever level of awareness I am.
Let me share one of several urgent life experiences that has helped me to let go of fear and learn to trust that Divine Presence. Several years ago while traveling from New Orleans to Nashville with three other friends, it began to rain lightly. Shortly thereafter, my car began to hydroplane. Having had training by a professional driving instructor, I executed the handling of the car exactly in the manner in which I was taught. Nevertheless, the car was not responding to my manipulation and it slid into the grassy divider, back onto the highway and we ended up in front of an oncoming motorist. Then the car headed down a steep ravine.
As the car continued downhill, I kept calling out the name of Jesus. Finally the car rammed into a tree. Even after realizing that we had stopped, I continued crying out the name of Jesus. As I sat there, one of my friends said, “Portia, we all are okay.” Only then did I stop my refrain of calling upon the only help I knew. I thought about our situation for a while and recognized that no man, woman or child could have saved us and kept us safe.
The driver of the vehicle that our car had swerved in front of later told me, “I just don’t understand it…I should have hit your car. But there was something that prevented my car from hitting you.”
I have had several other non-ordinary experiences when my life was in danger. I experienced poverty and my health was at risk, and in each of these occasions, once I acknowledged the presence and power of that Divine Supreme Being, I had a life-altering change in my life.
As I continue practicing the awareness of that Divine Presence, I have learned to trust in that Presence more and more, and by doing so I am living a more fearless existence.
