Great leaders we read about in the Bible, such as Joseph, Deborah, and David, were prepared by our loving Father-Mother God for what lay ahead of them. And Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered the Science of Christ, says of her own path, “God had been graciously preparing me during many years for the reception of this final revelation of the absolute divine Principle of scientific mental healing” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 107).

Like those who have gone before us, we are prepared by God for whatever challenges we encounter and are guided every step of the way. Science and Health says, “Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself” (p. 385). When I first read that statement in the Bible Lesson (found in the Christian Science Quarterly), I thought, “Wow, that’s a tall order!” But as the Bible declares, God is our creator and has made us in His image and likeness. That means that our capabilities are based in God, who is limitless good, and that it is God’s power that enables us to do whatever it is our duty to do. 

This is made clear in an article titled “The New Birth.” It says that our ability to meet God’s claims on us “is from God; for, being His likeness and image, man must reflect the full dominion of Spirit—even its supremacy over sin, sickness, and death” (Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 16).