Discernment

[cakmke]

How exactly does one know what the will of God is or how to discern what He wants you to do…
My situation: About two years ago I really got frustrated with my dead end job of 12 years. I decided that I needed/wanted a change so I left. I have a job now that barely pays the bilIs and have prayed and tried to figure out what I want to do. The problem is that I don’t really know what I want to do. I have applied at alot of places that I would like to work but nothing happens. I guess I am expecting an obvious sign from God to guide me somewhere. Anyone else been in a confusing situation like this.
Also God is confusing me about a man. I dated him for two years then he decided to just be friends. I thought if it was meant to be God will make it happen. Well, he came back in to my life which I took as a sign from God, but after 3 months he left. Again I said “if this is what God wants”. Believe it or not this happened again this time for about 2 months. I don’t know what God is doing with this person coming and going…or maybe I shouldn’t say God is causing it all? Any ideas? Thanks

 

[InLight247]

About your dating situation, I cannot speak for God, but God gives everyone common sense and wisdom.

If a guy is so unsure about the girl he has been dating, if after two years he still could not make up his mind, you know the answer. If it is meant to be, I doubt what you described would be the case. If you allow a man freely come and go and always take him back, it will simply make him cherish you less, and take you more for granted. Do you think that is a good sign?

This is purely from my common sense.

God bless!

 

[dang71]

I guess I am expecting an obvious sign from God to guide me somewhere. Anyone else been in a confusing situation like this.

been there my whole life!
the only thing i have been able to do is just make the best decision i can at the time, and then course-correct when i have a better perspective. i have no idea why God would NOT guide us, but haven’t found any practical advice on finding out God’s will.
sorry i can’t be more helpful than this.

 

[MarieVeronica]

Oh yes. I can certainly relate to what you’re describing here.

In February… I left the relative security of a job (8 years with the company), which wasn’t the greatest… but it paid the bills. I was more or less “forced” to do this… because my elderly mother suffers from Alzheimers and the cost of outside caregivers was growing more and more expensive. My two sisters are living in another state, and haven’t been able to help me out with the care of our mother.

So, now… we’re subsisting on mother’s income (while I provide the special care, she requires). She is growing more elderly and her disease is progressing. In that she suffers from a number of other medical conditions… she could realistically leave me… at any minute. I have nothing to fall back on, when the Lord calls her Home. No job. No income of my own. And no family to assist me.

My only source of comfort… is Jesus. I trust in His Mercy… and that He has led me in this direction, for good reasons. First of all… to Honor my mother… in caring for her, in her old age and time of need. Second, that this will somehow make a better disciple of me. I believe that Our dear Lord is shaping me, for His purposes… down the road. To this, I submit.

I try to take it one day at at time. In addition to Sunday (and occasional weekday) Mass, we make 2 visits a week to Our dear Lord. Being in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament… has been an unbelievable blessing for us both. I would recommend Eucharistic Adoration to you, as well. I’ll keep you in my prayers. God bless. :hug1:

 

[CreatioNova]

… and yet God never seems to stop talking directly to these telly evangalists … I was in the coffee shop and Jesus said to me … reading the paper this morning God showed me … In the car the Lord spoke to me and said …

I too am actively trying to discern what God wants of me, being recently returned to the church as I am …

So far I’m working on praying, listening, studying, and trusting … I don’t know what more most of us can do.

 

[Coreopisis]

How exactly does one know what the will of God is or how to discern what He wants you to do…
My situation: About two years ago I really got frustrated with my dead end job of 12 years. I decided that I needed/wanted a change so I left. I have a job now that barely pays the bilIs and have prayed and tried to figure out what I want to do. The problem is that I don’t really know what I want to do. I have applied at alot of places that I would like to work but nothing happens. I guess I am expecting an obvious sign from God to guide me somewhere. Anyone else been in a confusing situation like this.
Also God is confusing me about a man. I dated him for two years then he decided to just be friends. I thought if it was meant to be God will make it happen. Well, he came back in to my life which I took as a sign from God, but after 3 months he left. Again I said “if this is what God wants”. Believe it or not this happened again this time for about 2 months. I don’t know what God is doing with this person coming and going…or maybe I shouldn’t say God is causing it all? Any ideas? Thanks

This is a tough thing to answer but let me try. First of all God is not the cause of all of this. God allows things to happen to teach us lessons and he doesn’t always give us signs, if He did He wouldn’t ask us to have faith because we wouldn’t need it.

If God was to talk to you, you wouldn’t be able to hear Him unless you were in a state of grace and with Jesus. This means that you have to have confessed all your sins, have been sincerely sorry AND gone to church and recieve the sacrement. When you do this you will see more of God in your life, but until then you will feel alone. Proof of this is when Jesus died on the cross and called out “my God why have you foresaken me.” When Jesus took on our sins he also felt in his soul the separation from God that you are all describing here. Sin is why we can’t hear Him.

If you want to hear God and be able to see signs from Him you must first clean out your ears and wash your eyes with the tools that He gave us. Go to confession, go to Church and recieve the eucharist. Then pray and listen.

Do not forget that the entire bible was written as a guide for each of us to live our lives by. We should be focused on that guide, not on whether or not on a lookout for signs. Satan can also provide signs. If you were to get a sign would you know who it was from? How would this answer anything for you?

Move forward in your lives in faith, love, and wisdom. God gave you a bible, a church, a brain and common sense. Do not ignore these gifts. God gave you all the tools you need to make the decisions He wants you to make in this life. Now make them.

Love,
Sarah