Divine Providence and God's Will

[nobody]

What is the difference between the two, if there is a difference?

How do we accept what happens to us in our lives as God’s Will, when these things are very much affected by other people, often acting against God’s Will (sins are against God’s will, right?)?

Thanks.

 

[puzzleannie]

every thing that happens to us is not God’s will, many times people or circumstances will cause things to happen that are manifestly not God’s will i.e. we become victims of crime or disasters. God does not will that this person will be raped, that one murdered, another killed by a drunk driver. However God does will that every circumstance of life, even evil that we encounter (which He may permit in order that greater good can ensue), be turned into good through His Divine Providence and that it contribute to our holiness, perfection and growth in union with God. If we turn these circumstances over to Him and cooperate with His grace He can and will use everything, even evil events, to further our good.

 

[nobody]

Thank you, Puzzleannie, your responses are always beautiful and helpful. How do we, practically, turn things over to Him? When we come to a decision point, and we rule out the options that are evil or sinful or contrary to His teachings, and we are left with several options - how do we turn things over?

Another term I hear: “God’s Plan” Is this the same as Divine Providence?

 

[Matt16_18]

nobody:

When we come to a decision point, and we rule out the options that are evil or sinful or contrary to His teachings…

If the Church teaches that an action is sinful, we don’t need the gift of discernment to know that, we to need simply obey the Church’s teaching and avoid the sin, even when we don’t particularly understand why the Church teaches something is sinful. Obedience often precedes understanding in these matters, and if we insist that we understand before we obey, we may never understand.

… and we are left with several options - how do we turn things over …

When we are left with several options between things that are good, we need the supernatural gift of discernment so that we can do God’s will. If you want to learn more about this, I recommend this classic book:

Self–Abandonment to Divine Providence, Father, J.P. de Caussade, S. J.“This book, written especially for those who feel like despairing in their efforts to grow in holiness, is an invaluable aid in learning how to discern God’s Will and attain peace and holiness in this life and in eternity. Highly recommended for those who struggle with acceptance of life’s unexpected crosses, this book is the most popular on the subject.”

“Perhaps the greatest classic on the benefits to be derived from surrendering our human wills to divine Providence. The author shows that this self-abandonment is the key to attaining peace and great holiness in this life and that it is readily available to all people from beginners to those well advanced in their efforts to know God. Further, he shows how God is to be found amidst the simplest of daily activities and especially through total surrender to whatever is His will for each one of us. Plus, he shows how to determine what God’s will is. The book was written, moreover, to help those too who despair of ever becoming holy. He says that this problem arises from an inaccurate perception of the perfection that God expects from us which is mainly our purifying the innumerable little actions that occur in the course of our every day, to which most of us pay little attention. For it is not extraordinary feats that God expects for our growth in holiness, but rather heroic attention to every detail of our lives and humble acceptance of the lot He has chosen for us. Because Self-Abandonment to Divine providence is filled with such spiritual wisdom, because it is written to be of real and practical assistance to all people, and because its lessons are simply timeless, the reader will find it to be a rare treasure of inspiration and direction that he will find himself referring to again and again as a consoling and steadying guide on his path through life.”

 

[nobody]

Thank you for the book recommendation, Matt16_18. Soon after I posted, I realized that I asked a question that has had volumes written trying to answer. Someone else, too, had high praise for “Abandonment to Divine Providence”, so I bought it today. I think I remember your name from other responses to my earlier posts. Thank you again for your helpful response.

 

[puzzleannie]

can’t make a better recommendation than book cited above.

another thing to watch out for is people who claim to know what “God’s Plan” entails, who are always telling you to accept some evil or calamity because “it is part of God’s plan”, like they have their own private link to God’s Will and have been appointed to explain it to the rest of us.

 

[nobody]

I have the book Abandonment to Divine Providence by Caussade, translated and introduced by John Beevers. I just finished reading the introduction, in which Beevers writes of the book, “He insists, over and over again, that we must live from minute to minute…We must realize that there is nothing at all which happens unless willed by God, and our all-important duty is to cooperate with that will…”
And again, later, “The meanest incident must be seen as willed by God and must be dealt with as such.”

This leads back to my original question with which I started this thread: How can the actions of people acting against God’s will, actually be God’s will for those around them (or their victims)?

 

[Matt16_18]

nobody:

… “The meanest incident must be seen as willed by God and must be dealt with as such.”

This leads back to my original question with which I started this thread: How can the actions of people acting against God’s will, actually be God’s will for those around them (or their victims)?

There is a difference between God’s permissive will, and God’s perfect will. It is God’s perfect will that no one should sin. God does, however, permit humans to commit sin, and yet, in spite of that, God can still write straight with crooked lines. If someone sins against you and causes you to suffer, God can use that suffering to bring you to perfection. That is why Jesus said that we must take up our crosses if we are to be his disciples.

What Fr. Caussade is saying is that nothing that happens in our lives that is a random act of meaningless violence. Our abandonment to divine providence means trusting that if God allows some calamity to befall us, we must not think that God has abandoned us to evil, or that God is being unjust in allowing us to be subject to the mystery of iniquity. We must give praise to God even for our sufferings.

The entire Book of Job deals with the theme of God allowing evil to affect the righteous.And the LORD said to Job: “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
Job 40:1-2

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him.
John 9:1-3

And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
2Cor 12:7-9

 

[nobody]

Thank you again, Matt16_18, I do appreciate your replies. I am still having a hard time with the concept. I have yet to read the book, I have only read the introduction.

My biggest stumbling block with this whole concept is how one action can simultaneously be against and with God’s will (even permissive will: that’s the first I’ve heard of that term).

I don’t know if I’m making my question clear or not. It is sins against innocent children that bring these questions to my mind quite often.

Peace.

 

[Matt16_18]

nobody:

I don’t know if I’m making my question clear or not. It is sins against innocent children that bring these questions to my mind quite often.

Your question seem clear to me, you are struggling with the mystery of iniquity, the mystery of evil. It would be fatuous of me to try to explain the mystery of evil to you since that is beyond my comprehension.

All I really know is that by the gift of grace, we can believe that God truly does love us and wants what is best for us. When we seek the will of God, we are seeking what is best for us. All will be well - Julian of Norwich