SITTING IN MY OFFICE recently (where I receive calls from people asking me to help them through prayer), I struggled with concerns over having too many things to do. I didn't like the feeling. It was almost immobilizing, like carrying something heavy—a rare sense of discouragement I'm not used to having to deal with.

So I prayed. I opened my thought to the good I knew was at hand and sought God's guidance. When I turn to Him, I always feel protected and loved. To me, God is a Father-Mother presence. A powerful presence that embodies all that is beautiful, intelligent, and grand. It's everywhere. And as I prayed for inspiration to be free of that heaviness, the phone rang. It was the Sentinel, asking me to write about how Christian Science is an antidote to any kind of discouragement.

Oh, do I love God! He truly meets our every need. I didn't know what would shake me out of my particular discouragement, but that sure did. And I'm still chuckling.

Years ago I was told that discouragement is simply "disappointed self-will." And I've shared this idea many times with people when we're praying together. Like the Biblical serpent in the garden of Eden (see Gen. 3), discouraging thoughts suggest to us that something is missing—not enough money, or strength, or time. Any temptation that makes us believe that God isn't all-powerful involves an attempt to discourage.

In my case, I'd volunteered for some extra responsibilities and, like so many people, found myself thinking: "I need to do such and such; I need to contact so and so; I need. . ..." I realized this particular kind of discouragement did involve my own disappointed self-will. Discouragement also masquerades as feelings of false responsibility and self-doubt.

This all reminds me of Jesus. He said, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me" (John 5:30). His life-work helps show that turning to God in the face of great opposition, skepticism, and outright hatred, meets our needs. Jesus knew God. He healed all forms of disease and even raised the dead. To me, what enabled him to do all of it was knowing that without God, he could do none of it.

That morning, I realized that I, too, can trust God, who is Love itself, to show me whatever I need to do. I can trust that God will provide what I need to know. Therefore, I can unload (and so can you) all the human reasoning and wondering about how I'll accomplish a task, or overcome some difficulty. God appoints the work, as well as the one to perform it. It's God who leads and shows the way.

I reasoned, If Jesus, the master Christian, had the humility to acknowledge that he couldn't do anything without God, who am I to think differently? How insidious is that serpent- temptation to declare that I can do something without God. And conversely, how gratifying it is to know that as I turn to God for strength and answers, I am able do all that I need to do with confidence.

The more I learn about God, the surer I am that I can turn to Him with my whole heart. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, never fails to help in this endeavor. It explains that I am God's individual expression, and that as I understand who He is, I will find who I am as His perfect expression. It shows that I, too, can rely on God just as the great figures in the Bible did—individuals like Moses, David, Daniel, and Paul. They prayed to God often, and trusted that if they continued to look to God, the right answer would be revealed. Though they sometimes had near-death challenges, discouragement didn't do them in.

In addition to trust in God, gratitude is a powerful deterrent to discouragement. That morning, I'd been opening my thought in prayer to recognize the good at hand. Starting simply, I'd thought of my spectacular view of beautiful clouds and mountains; of the wonderful people I was privileged to talk with in my work; of the joy of having Christian Science in my life. The qualities of God that I saw expressed around me began to lighten my heart—qualities such as beauty, grace, and power. Majesty, strength, and structure. Innocence, purity, and health. Courage, humility, understanding, spirituality. Along with these thoughts of gratitude came the assurance that with every challenge I faced, there would be answers. They might not necessarily be ones I'd anticipate. But God was leading me.

Referring to Jesus' raising of Lazarus from death, Mary Baker Eddy asked, "Who dares to doubt this consummate test of the power and willingness of divine Mind to hold man forever intact in his perfect state, and to govern man's entire action?" (Science and Health, pp. 493—494). Whatever the situation, life-threatening or not, can we feel discouraged while knowing of the divine Mind's willingness to keep us safe and carry us forward? And isn't it wonderful to know that gaining hope and confidence isn't about my personal willingness, or yours, because the divine Mind impels us to perform what we're asked, and in refreshingly new ways. The divine will makes all things possible naturally; it's the human will, beginning from a limited human perspective, that causes us to falter.

There's no question that the demands on peoples' lives these days sometimes appear to be more than they can handle: tight finances, distressing relationships, fear for their children's safety. But when thought opens even just a little to the power of divine Mind, blessings appear. Moses led the children of Israel out of bondage, only to face what looked like an impassable body of water, the Red Sea. It occurs to me that Moses' task was probably greater than he thought he could handle. But I'm sure he knew God would reveal the solution, even if he couldn't have foreseen the sea opening as it did (see Ex. 14). Whatever we're facing, the need is to pray for divine guidance and accept the divine Mind's willingness to hold everyone intact, parting the waters of doubt and opening up the promise of God's protecting love. The God we pray to is the same God Moses trusted. Why expect any different result?

Because God is, we are. Since God speaks to us, there is in reality no other voice to keep you or me from doing what needs doing, from knowing what needs knowing, from feeling what needs feeling. Becoming diligent in the prayer that honors God's immediate power, we refuse to rehearse the details of whatever is troubling. We find that He is revealing His plan in many ways. Turning to God for His guidance, rather than praying to Him with a personal agenda, we won't be discouraged.

In my office, as I watch the clouds, I see there's nothing to stop their movement. Likewise, there's nothing to stop our expression of the infinite Mind. Recent acts of terrorism have attempted to terrify people and halt the movement of nations. But could there be any situation in the world where Infinity is not in control? Because of their trust in God, a sea failed to stop Moses. A giant failed to stop David. A lions' den failed to stop Daniel. And even when it's not clear that Mind is willing to hold everyone safe and intact moment by moment, we don't need to doubt. No matter what form discouragement takes, it cannot stop God or take from His expression the joy and ability to move and live freely.

"Who dares to doubt?" As said, when I got the call to write this article, I was feeling overwhelmed. But the divine Mind showed me how I could feel free. How to do what I needed to do. And if Mind speaks to me, it speaks to you, and to everyone.css