At one point during my time in the military, I undertook a professional designation program that included a variety of intensive academic and physical fitness requirements on top of my regular workload. Upon completing the program – which would ultimately take 15 months or so – I would receive a military designation conveying that I had achieved a certain level of proficiency in United States Marine Corps operations.

On the academic side, there were weekly lectures, numerous study modules, and meetings with subject matter experts, concluding with a multi-hour oral board given by three to four senior individuals.

I knew I couldn’t accomplish this through sheer willpower, so I went to God in prayer. The Bible conveys this simple yet profound divine proclamation that can speak to us all: “Thou art mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Yes, we belong to God, our divine Parent, and so everything about us is in God’s care and expresses God’s nature.

In line with this idea is this explanation about divine Mind, another name for God, from “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science: “The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade of grass to a star, as distinct and eternal” (p. 70).

That includes you and me. And seeing this has helped me understand that God is the eternal source of our mental faculties, including memory. God knows us in our true, spiritual nature: forever perfect, whole, and complete. As God’s spiritual offspring, we reflect the qualities of the divine Mind – including intelligence and wisdom.

God’s, Mind’s, faculties are infinite, limitless, unaffected by material factors, stable, and forever intact. And our mental faculties are maintained and cared for by God. As we recognize this, we find that we’re able to assimilate, retain, and recall information from memory more consistently and thoroughly.

The designation process was intimidating at times, but as I persisted in my prayers affirming these spiritual facts, I felt empowered in my efforts to fulfill the requirements. I was able to go into the oral board with confidence, fully knowing that all of us reflect the same God, the one true Mind. How grateful I was to pass the oral board and receive the designation!

Whatever our situation may be, we can prove God’s care for our mental faculties. And the divine assurance of wisdom and care can be ours today as we consider God’s proclamation: “Thou art mine.”