Affirmations: Steadfast Faith in the Good

This article is one of the Unity Classics written by legendary leaders of Unity. Some date back decades, even a century. That’s why the language may seem a bit formal, and the writers sometimes used masculine nouns and pronouns that were considered proper for their era. This is from the 1952 book, Things to Be Remembered, a collection of columns that Lowell Fillmore wrote for Weekly Unity.

Remember that an affirmation of Truth is more than a request to God to give you something or to do something for you. It is a statement of your faith in God’s perfect, though perhaps unmanifest, gifts that have already been given you. It is a formal acceptance of His gifts.

An affirmation acknowledges God’s supreme, omnipresent love and power as already in operation for your good. It is a statement of what is true in the kingdom of God and implies, if it does not express it in words, thankfulness for God’s rich blessings received. It proves faith because it acknowledges that the substance of God’s kingdom is abundantly manifesting itself in your world. It acknowledges God’s gifts as being already abundantly received. It fulfills the admonition of Jesus: “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” And: “Your father knoweth what things you have need of, before you ask him.”

How Affirmations Work

Take the following example of a Truth affirmation: “God is my health, I can’t be sick.” This affirmation is a definite statement of what is true of God’s creation. God made man and pronounced him good. That is the only man idea that God entertains, and it is the true self of every one of us. When I say, “God is my health, I can’t be sick,” I am calling my attention to the fact that God created only perfect things, a healthy body being included. As I affirm, I accept that body from him. As I repeat such an affirmation, I should do so in the spirit of thanksgiving …

“When I make an affirmation, I must stand fast in it. I must not be swayed between faith in God’s power and fear of appearances.”

Even though an affirmation does contradict material conditions as they appear to be, it is nevertheless a true statement of conditions as they are in God’s plan. It helps us to bring the true condition into our body. An affirmation helps us to correct the erroneous mental cause back of the unhealthy condition. If an affirmation is spoken without conviction, it is like a wish instead of a prayer and lacks vitality.

Looking Past Appearances

There are two possible outlooks on life. One is based upon things as they appear to be; the other is based upon what things should be and what they really are when considered in the light of pure, spiritual truth. Our faith provides the substance that makes our spiritual affirmation become tangible. Therefore if we hold steadfastly to the principle of the good that we know as existing in God and in all of his creations, and have faith in the good, we shall build it into our manifest world.

If I repeat the affirmation “God is my health” while at the same time I am thinking how wonderful it would be if God would really become my health, I am making a very weak affirmation. I am expressing a wish instead of sending forth a dynamic prayer. I must put something substantial into my affirmation to make it alive. When I say: “God is my health,” I must know absolutely that I have spoken an eternal truth. I must feel that I have cast the die, that I cannot turn back but must accept my words as final. I then set the divine law into motion, and it will establish health for me. I press the button that starts the machinery of God’s health moving in my body. I must know that there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it; God is my health, and I do not have to figure out how He is going to accomplish His healing work in me. Joyousness then springs up in my heart, because I know that what I have affirmed is indeed true. I have jumped into the ocean of God’s love, and I must let it bear me up. I am fearless; I have no other plans but to let God be my health. I make no provision for failure. I have placed myself in his everlasting arms, and I know that he will care for me.

When I make an affirmation, I must stand fast in it. I must not be swayed between faith in God’s power and fear of appearances. Like the Children of Israel caught between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea, I must “stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah.”

Read more from Lowell Fillmore.