DIVINE PROVIDENCE

To those who were worried about the next day and were fearful of its uncertainties, the Master explained:

 "The Intelligent Nature has foreseen everything. We must learn to use that which God has created. Today you have satisfied your hunger and yet you say, 'Who will provide for tomorrow?' Tomorrow is provided for. Here, there is a wellspring, and yet further away there is another wellspring, and there is a third one. God knows what He has provided for, and we need to watch the progression of things.

 "There is no need for us to worry if spring will come or if the sun will rise or set. There is no need for us to worry about what will happen. Man is the weakest being which God protects in order for him to come to know that Divine Providence exists.

 "Who would raise the children if it were not for their mother's and father's love? With birds, both the mother and the father keep the eggs warm, then when the chicks hatch, both of them bring the food until their wings become stronger. What is it that makes the birds provide for their little chicks? It is the Divine.

 "There exists something which is watching over us and protects us All the Beings who love you watch over you Often you interrupt your connection with the Invisible World - with those Beings who love you - and in this way, you start to doubt yourselves in life.

 "You are at school The air, the water, the light, the heat and the cold in nature are tools of the great School in which you have been placed These are temporary tools Above them is the Divine Spirit who leads man on the path of his development.

 "Every human soul whom you meet is sent by God to help you All obstacles which you encounter are opportunities for the Invisible World to help you Be thankful to the Great Intelligent Beings who watch over you as the smallest and the weakest helping you constantly The time will come when all your affairs will be put in order.

 "Nature employs different methods for every student, but the purpose is one and the same. to strengthen man so that he may endure all conditions and evolve God has placed man under specific conditions such that he will develop particular virtues Each virtue is developed under conditions specific for if one - under not so favorable conditions, and another - under more favorable.

 "He who wants to develop Love must assume the least position in the world.

 "Consider that everything in the world has been created well Consider that everything which happens to you works for your benefit. This fact must penetrate deeply into your mind, heart, soul and will. Often Providence sends a great tribulation to a man in order to save him from an even greater adversity.

 "Some people display a talent for science, the arts or for some other field, yet in their moral and spiritual life, they are lagging behind This indicates that they are behind in their development. In such cases, their friends from the Invisible World will stimulate them with more sublime gifts in order to lift them out from this lower condition in which they find themselves.

 "God provides for everything Many think that they are abandoned, that there is no one who is interested in them If they would understand the interrelationship which exists among all living beings, absolute peace and harmony would reign within their souls This relationship, this inner bond among beings is such that even for the smallest one there is this boon which is pulling them upward. God abandons no one. Even under the worst conditions, God has a Plan for every being which is yet unknown to humankind It is good that they do not know of the Plan which God has destined for all living beings They need only to know one thing alone everything which God intends to do is good What are God's Thoughts? How will they be realized? This will remain a secret for all times and epochs.

 "God has foreseen the conditions necessary for your mental, emotional and spiritual development Regardless, He has left a specific sphere of activity exclusively for you in which He never interferes When you work within this sphere, He watches from a distance and retreats after that immediately This is the area in which man is free Outside of this sphere, man is not free As soon as he leaves it and enters another sphere, he already feels restricted.

 "Man is a being who is exposed to great dangers Every day when you eat or when you walk, you are exposed to great dangers One needs to be thankful for the existence of Providence who is watchful If it were not for this Providence, many tribulations would have befallen us Every good deed in the world has been done by the Intelligent Beings Not one good deed is done by chance Many think that things happen arbitrarily. Someone is asking, 'Who will help me?' There is Someone to help you.

 "If coincidences and chances cannot be explained, it does not mean that they are arbitrary. These are acts of manifestation of a Higher World, but they are reflected also in our world. They are called 'chances', because they do not happen often or according to the general laws known to all people. There are other Laws that govern these coincidences. At present, it is difficult to persuade people that Divine Providence exists in the world. Providence does exist in the world. Even with regards to the greatest problems and difficulties, there is still a Law which will determine what needs to happen.

 "You people are royal sons. The sun rises and asks you every day, 'How are you?' The wind blows, the water flows. Be thankful that you are like tourists on a free journey through the Universe. The earth is a great ship. At present, it has approximately 50-60 smokestacks and travels with a speed of 29 km per second. Yet you are dissatisfied and say, 'Why am I on this ship?'

 "Every man must rely only on that which God has given him and other people should be for him as additional conditions. God's Blessing can only come in two ways: He can bless you at the beginning of your journey, and He can bless you also at the end. Man has been given so many Blessings by God. To every human soul at least one thing on earth is given; but not knowing its purpose, he suffers.

 "The good things are in front of us. What we have learned until now are childish things. Man has not yet begun to learn, to acquire virtues, knowledge and arts.

 "Someone may say, 'If God provides for you, you do not need to work.' No, this is incorrect thinking. God will provide for me only after I have planted two or three hundred trees. God will provide for me after I have completed the university. God will provide for me when I work in the vineyard and become an experienced vine-grower. God provides for His prudent children who work, think rightly and obey Him.

 "In Africa, a traveler encountered a lion that was ready to jump on him. He heard the voice of his mother saying, 'You have matches;

 set the grass on fire.' He set fire to the grass and in this way, saved himself. His mother was alive. This is possible. The higher consciousness of his mother accomplished it.

 "There is a case of a man who had fallen asleep in a field. A snake was just about to bite him when a bee stung him and woke him up. And so he was saved. In this way, the bee did him a good service.

 "A man was traveling. Robbers who were stealing from wealthy travelers captured him. When they took him to their leader, he said to him, 'We do not have the orders to steal from you.' They let him go. This means that God had said to them, 'Let him go free!'

 "In order for God's One Desire to be realized, all worldly laws must collapse.

 "A father, an invalid, had only one daughter and she passed on. After her departure many people started to bring him food and take care of him.

 "A young man was left with only one lev and said to himself, 'What can I do with one lev? After I have spent it, what am I going to do?' Meanwhile, a beggar approached the young man and asked him for help. Something said to this youth, 'Give to him!' And he gave the last of his money. 'I gave to him,' recounted the young man, 'and I thought to myself: what God giveth. In a short while after that, a friend of mine whom I had not seen for ten years invited me to his home for dinner.' Give the money - the salvation will come from somewhere else."