ACIM Lesson 355 There is no end to all the peace and joy, and all the miracles that I will give, when I accept God’s Word. Why not today?
Why should I wait, my Father, for the joy You promised me? ²For You will keep Your Word You gave Your Son in exile.
I need not wait an instant more to be at peace forever.
ACIM Lesson 355
There is no end to all the peace and joy, and all the miracles that I will give, when I accept God’s Word. Why not today?
1. Why should I wait, my Father, for the joy You promised me? ²For You will keep Your Word You gave Your Son in exile. ³I am sure my treasure waits for me, and I need but reach out my hand to find it. ⁴Even now my fingers touch it. ⁵It is very close. ⁶I need not wait an instant more to be at peace forever. ⁷It is You I choose, and my Identity along with You. ⁸Your Son would be Himself, and know You as his Father and Creator, and his Love.
Accepting Our Identity
We are being told that we don’t have to wait for peace and joy. It is quite possible to have it now even as we continue to experience this life story. Peace and joy are inevitable as we choose God. We are told that we need not wait an instant longer to be at peace forever. That is to say when we accept our identity as the Son of God rather than the son of the ego we are at peace.
Gradually Shifting
My experience has been one of a gradual shifting. When I react to the world, my feelings alert me to a belief that is binding me to this illusory experience. For instance, this morning I noticed that I was feeling stressed. So, I stopped what I was doing to examine my thoughts. Consequently, what I discovered was that my mind was jumping around to the different things I need to do before Christmas.
I rested my mind in God and let go of that thinking. There is a better way to handle this and as my mind cleared, I remembered what that was. I asked the Holy Spirit what He would have me do now and I did that. This is how I stay at peace. Before I was asking the ego what to do about this time crunch and the ego kept bringing me one thing after another to get done. However, that wasn’t helpful, but then the ego is seldom helpful. It is always trying to fix the effect without dealing with the cause.
As we are told in the Rules for Decision, we are to make no decisions by ourselves (with the ego). Jesus tells us that all decisions are made in union. ⁷You will not make decisions by yourself whatever you decide. ⁸For they are made with idols or with God. (ACIM, T-30.I.14:7-8) If I am unhappy, it is because I am making my decisions with ego rather than with God. It is as simple as that, and to return to a miracle-minded state, I only need to choose God.
My Day Is Not at Random
In the Rules for Decision we are also told this. Your day is not at random. ²It is set by what you choose to live it with, and how the friend whose counsel you have sought perceives your happiness. (ACIM, T-30.I.15:1-2) This morning, I carelessly chose the ego as my counselor and the ego thought my happiness depended on getting everything done. But, when I asked the Holy Spirit for guidance, I realized that my happiness depended on trusting Him to direct my day.
It Is Easy to Change My Mind
Because I have practiced this for a long time, I usually choose God automatically now. Sometimes, though, I fall back into old thought habits. However, it is easy to change my mind and this change of mind is truly a miracle. I went from feeling anxious to being at peace with only one thought. My mind reached out to the Holy Spirit for peace, and as Jesus says in this lesson, it is very close. My peace of mind is now the miracle that I give to whoever He sends my way.