Lesson 348. I have no cause for anger or for fear,
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Lesson 348.
I have no cause for anger or for fear,
For You surround me. And in every need
That I perceive, Your grace suffices me.
Father, let me remember You are here, and I am not alone. Surrounding me is
everlasting Love. I have no cause for anything except the perfect peace and joy
I share with You. What need have I for anger or for fear? Surrounding me is
perfect safety. Can I be afraid, when Your eternal promise goes with me?
Surrounding me is perfect sinlessness. What can I fear, when You created me in
holiness as perfect as Your Own?
God's grace suffices us in everything that He would have us do. And only that we
choose to be our will as well as His.
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Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey
Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the
following site: ~ M. Street.
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Lesson 348.
"I have no cause for anger or for fear,
For You surround me. And in every need
That I perceive, Your grace suffices me."
* "I have no cause for anger or for fear" because I am invulnerable, and thus no
longer have to defend myself -- preserving my individuality by getting angry,
fearful of what others will do to me. This reflects the ego's belief that God's
grace is not enough, the antithesis of St. Paul's experience of Jesus telling
him: "My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Corinthians 12:9a). Thus we want to
realize that whenever we get angry or indulge our specialness, we are saying to
Jesus: "Your love and peace are not sufficient; I desire <special> love and <my>
peace. I want things my way, not yours, and if you insist on helping me, be
assured it will be the way I want it done." Realizing the insanity of this
position, we are finally free to make another choice -- <his> .*
(1:1-5) "Father, let me remember You are here, and I am not alone. Surrounding
me is everlasting Love. I have no cause for anything except the perfect peace
and joy I share with You. What need have I for anger or for fear? Surrounding me
is perfect safety."
*When we indulge our specialness, are angry or fearful, it is the ego's god that
is with us, not the true God. What makes A Course in Miracles unique among world
spiritualities is Jesus' teaching that there is specific motivation for anger,
fear, and specialness: to block awareness of his love and the memory of God.*
(1:6-8) "Can I be afraid, when Your eternal promise goes with me? Surrounding me
is perfect sinlessness. What can I fear, when You created me in holiness as
perfect as Your Own?"
*When I am afraid, angry, and filled with judgments, I deny my invulnerability
and safety because the Love of God is within. I thus have denied the Love that
is my only need, and the promise God gave when He created me. The second stanza
of Helen's poem, "The Promise," also speaks of our Creator's promise:
"Throughout the years, throughout the arc of time,
What was still is, and yet will be again;
Your single promise, never to be changed.
Hear me, my Lord! I cannot call in vain."
(The Gifts of God, p.14) *
(2) "God's grace suffices us in everything that He would have us do. And only
that we choose to be our will as well as His."
*We need realize how much we do not choose God's Will in our everyday life, and
yet have the power to choose His grace as the blessed guide in our daily
activity, as we read again from the manual's closing verse:
"And now in all your doings be you blessed. God turns to you for help to
save the world. Teacher of God, His thanks He offers you, And all the world
stands silent in the grace You bring from Him." (M-29.8:1-3)*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
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