No soldier would fear the forefront of the battle if he knew that there encompassed him a presence and power which the shafts of danger could not penetrate. And yet there is such a presence and power; moreover, it is available to all who understandingly and unreservedly reach out for it, as many students of Christian Science have proved during these grim and hazardous times.

Christian Science teaches that in the measure of our realization of the allness of God, and of man's unity with the Father, in that measure do the menacing shadows of evil disappear from our path. The great fact of the omnipotence and omnipresence of God, faithfully adhered to, inevitably nullifies evil's claim to power or presence. On the other hand, leaving God out of our lives means relinquishing our hold upon a sure anchorage and placing ourselves under the false, shifting, so-called material laws with all their dangers and limitations, thereby becoming the victims of chance and circumstance, instead of their master.

In the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy writes (p. 387): "The history of Christianity furnishes sublime proofs of the supporting influence and protecting power bestowed on man by his heavenly Father, omnipotent Mind, who gives man faith and understanding whereby to defend himself, not only from temptation, but from bodily suffering." Through the Bible pages there run like a golden thread instances of God's unfailing protection for those who trusted in Him and endeavored always to live close to Him. The Psalms, covering nearly a thousand years of Israel's history, touch upon nearly every phase of earthly experience. In them we find the key to success, the secret of how to pass unscathed through the direst perils. The one hundred and forty-fifth Psalm, full of gratitude for God's unspeakable goodness, voices these words, so universal in their appeal and application: "The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them."

In his early youth David discovered a precious jewel in his reliance upon God and expressed it in the Psalms. This precious jewel was some understanding of God's omnipotence and omnipresence, a truth so simple yet so profound that it has reverberated down the centuries, proving a sure refuge to all who accepted it.

Nothing should dim our perception of God's nearness, for we are actually in constant communication with Him, and He is in constant communication with us. It is never in vain that human thought turns understandingly to Him for succor. And if we realize the ever-presence and all-power of God, or good, with sufficient clarity, and hold firmly our position as the idea of God, regardless of sense testimony, then error of every kind must fade into its native nothingness.

In the radiance of this presence and power all the dread images of mortal thought, all the illusions of the material senses, vanish as surely as darkness disappears before the light. If we do not experience these results, it is, doubtless, because we have not held to the truth, but have listened to the voice of mortal mind, the troublemaker in every difficulty, and believed in a power other than God. However, to retrace our steps is not difficult when we recognize mortal mind as merely wrong thinking, false belief, utterly devoid of Principle, power, or identity.

Mrs. Eddy stresses frequently in her writings the potency of right thinking. In "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 210) she states: "Good thoughts are an impervious armor; clad therewith you are completely shielded from the attacks of error of every sort. And not only yourselves are safe, but all whom your thoughts rest upon are thereby benefited." Since all thought, either good or bad, externalizes itself according to its nature, we see of what paramount importance it is to rid ourselves of the popular illusion that our thinking is merely our own concern. Every minute our thinking adds to the forces for world betterment or weighs against them.

How necessary, then, that our thinking show forth the Mind that is God, for it is only as God's thoughts are present and lived that their power can be utilized for the good of all. Contrariwise, if wrong thoughts, discord, darkness, and fears occupy consciousness, then these errors sooner or later will begin to manifest themselves with unpleasant results. In meditative moments, when the call of the world is less insistent, we may have sometimes asked ourselves why our life lacked joy and achievement, why happiness and success passed us by, or why disappointments, failures, and even disasters seemed to dog our footsteps. Maybe we have been apt to look beyond or outside ourselves for the source of our troubles, whereas the corrective process lies first and foremost within our own thinking. Obviously, then, to govern our thoughts is to determine our experiences. Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 495), "When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea."

Thus the fact clearly emerges that not only our salvation but our safety, our health, our happiness, our prosperity come to us through right mental activity. Turning wholeheartedly from matter to Spirit, we can claim protection from all dangers, surmount all difficulties, and achieve success, and nothing but wrong intention can disqualify us from demonstrating this power. What assurance rings through these rousing words voiced by the prophet Isaiah: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."

Copyright, 1943, by The Christian Science Publishing Society, One, Norway Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Entered at Boston post office as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at a special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 11, 1918. Published every Saturday.