My ‘great concern’

Not long ago, I found myself deep into a complex project at work that involved many parties within and without my organization. It was a task far bigger than any I’d worked on previously, and I feared that I was in over my head. I hardly knew where to begin to put together the foundational pillars that would support a successful outcome. I worried that I might make a mistake that would result in disaster or that my colleagues would realize that I didn’t have what it took to lead such a high-stakes project.

Anxiety about my work was new to me. I’d always been cool and easygoing under pressure. There was more to it than just willing myself to stay calm. Through my study of Christian Science, I had learned that we can rely on God to guide us and provide everything we need to fulfill His holy purpose. Mary Baker Eddy writes in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” “To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings” (p. vii).

Looking to God, good, as the unlimited source of all good relieves us of the pressure to try to accomplish anything on our own. In fact, we have no capabilities apart from God, since He is the one infinite Mind, the only creator. The All-in-all certainly does not experience stress, and Mind’s ideas – which includes each of us – can’t express a quality unknown to God and therefore can’t be stressed.

Although I was doing everything I humanly could to make progress on this big undertaking, my thoughts would sometimes be flooded with doubt. And as if there weren’t enough pressure already, we learned of a deadline for the project that was earlier than we had anticipated.

Then one day I had a spiritual breakthrough. While reading hymns from the “Christian Science Hymnal,” I came across one that really spoke to me. The final two lines of Hymn No. 224 read, “Henceforth my great concern shall be / To love and praise Thee more” (John Ryland).

It was as if the walls of a tunnel had been bulldozed, and light was suddenly pouring in. The fears and worries that had haunted me vanished with the light.

Rereading and digesting those lines gave me such clear insight on what I needed to do – not just with my work project, but with any situation in life. How liberating it was to realize that our fundamental job is simply to understand and glorify God. And to understand God better is to get a clearer view of our true, limitless selfhood as God’s pure, spiritual creation.

From that point on, the work project became much easier to approach. I kept up the hard work, but more importantly, I praised God for giving me this opportunity to express Him through intelligence, diligence, and creativity. Each of us has access to all the wisdom and intelligence of Mind, and whatever we need is always within reach.

This new outlook was helpful in many aspects of my life. When physical problems arose and I was tempted to worry, I focused instead on giving God the love and praise due His holy name. The Bible says, “We love him, because he first loved us” (I John 4:19). The thought that we’re already included in the all-embracing atmosphere of divine Love was helpful in my prayers to love God more. I loved God for loving me and all His children.

Praising God as Soul helped me stay conscious of the harmony Soul expresses in all of us as its ideas. As a result, the seeds of strife in a work relationship dissolved. And loving and praising God as everyone’s true Parent relieved me of a sense of burden in fulfilling my duties as a father. Understanding and praising God as Spirit, I gained a clearer sense of true, spiritual substance, which is never affected by the fluctuations of a bank account.

As I prayed and worked, the project came to a successful and satisfying conclusion. I was so grateful for the direction and inspiration that came through spiritual study as well as reliance on God as understood in Christian Science. Since that experience, I’ve been constantly reminding myself of our one great concern – to love and praise God.

Adapted from an article published in the Sept. 8, 2025, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.