Does God's will for you change?

[Michael19682]

Your first sentence answers your own question in the second sentence! If God always knew everything you are to do, then it can’t be a question of ‘what He knows’ because He knows everything! So it is truer to say that His will for you is realized in steps and stages through the things you are saying, doing and praying - His perfect will for you is realized through your zig-zaggy imperfect ways. The more you discern, pray and act, the better aligned your will is with His.

As a famous quote goes: ‘God draws straight with crooked lines.’ If you were to look at the back of a tapestry the threads would be everywhere, crazy lines here and there, but when you turn it around and look at the front, you can see the threads make up a picture of your life and what God has helped you achieve towards God’s kingdom and your own soul.

So, self-ego? Some of it, yes and some of it, no. This is why one needs to pray and what discernment is about- distinguishing God’s will amongst our own loose ends. Look for Him in the gentle breeze not the storm - one thread at a time.

Excellent analogy to tapestries. One more thing about tapestry – not that its relevant to your point – but the crazyness of the threads often depends on the quality of the tapestry. It seems all men were created equal, but some more equal than others. The church’s point about different gifts, I guess.

 

[friardchips]

I think that if God is really calling a person to do something, He will make it plain to them, and He will really convict them with His Spirit. No matter what their calling is - whether it’s to be a Priest, a Lector, a Eucharistic Minister, a missionary–God will touch a person’s heart and spirit, and they will know. It’s still up to the person, but they will know. If the person decides not to follow their calling, God will respect that, and if they’ve given their lives to Him, He will never leave them, and will make another path for them, but they will remain in his care and in his love.

It seems to me, that as far as a career goes, many people expect God to tell them what their career path is to be… should I become a clerk, a journalist, a doctor…etc., In this respect, I don’t know if God does this. I think a person should follow their hearts and understand what gifts and talents they have, and ask God to use them and bless them, and especially use them to bring others unto himself. That’s God’s ultimate plan–to use us to bring others into his kingdom.

Where I have underlined; I think that this is a profoundly beautiful way to put it! I also like this: ‘…He will make it plain to them, and He will really convict them with His Spirit.’

But the whole post is one to contemplate. Thank you for such a sensitive response

 

[rinnie]

I’m might get some disagreement about this, but…

I really, really think, that if it was God’s plan for a man to become a priest, that God would not have allowed him to meet and fall in love and marry. It just wouldn’t have happened.

Take St. Paul for example: He was definitely on the wrong path, and God had other plans for him: to the point where Jesus actually appeared to him and stopped him from proceeding any further along his current path. (Even though he still could have refused because of his free will.)

There have been a couple of things in my own life, where I have internally heard from the Lord, and he told me to not take the path I was thinking about pursuing. Another time He spoke to both my husband and me separately and told us to turn our resignation in to a group we were volunteering with. We knew it was the Lord–because it happened simultaneously and separately–my husband said to me, ‘there’s something I have to tell you’. And I said, ‘I already know’. (We had not previously been thinking about or discussing doing this, and it came as a surprise to both of us.)

These things make me feel, that if God has a particular plan for you, he will let you know.

Yes but just because you feel this was what God had planned for you, you do agree you could also be wrong right?

But anyway not that I disagree, I just feel that because God calls us to do something does not mean we will.

Its so funny what you said about the group, my husband and I were also in the same place, and choose together to step down. I don’t know if it was God or us but it did not feel the place for us at this time. I will never know for sure.

Sometimes I feel maybe we could have let him down, also and disappointed him, But I believe he is forgiving and understands when his will may be something we choose not to do. Usually for our own personal reasons, sometimes selfishness, sometimes other reasons.

For us personally at that time it just did not feel like we were accomplishing anything, and did not agree with a lot of things and felt it was time to pray on it more and step down.

 

[rinnie]

Another example. This is true,

A Priest not so long ago stepped down, got out of the Priesthood and got married.

I personally believe it was the will of God calling him to be a Priest, but for some reason he felt that he maybe could not continue, did not want to. etc who knows.

But I believe there are times we put our will over God as in this case. Just me opinion. And I believe God understands this and forgives us,

 

[Simca]

Yes but just because you feel this was what God had planned for you, you do agree you could also be wrong right?

But anyway not that I disagree, I just feel that because God calls us to do something does not mean we will.

Its so funny what you said about the group, my husband and I were also in the same place, and choose together to step down. I don’t know if it was God or us but it did not feel the place for us at this time. I will never know for sure.

Sometimes I feel maybe we could have let him down, also and disappointed him, But I believe he is forgiving and understands when his will may be something we choose not to do. Usually for our own personal reasons, sometimes selfishness, sometimes other reasons.

For us personally at that time it just did not feel like we were accomplishing anything, and did not agree with a lot of things and felt it was time to pray on it more and step down.

Hi rinnie,

I do agree with your 1st paragraph, and understand what you’re saying in your whole post.
I think very often we wonder about certain decisions we’ve made, but then I also think about Romans 8:28 which says that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purposes. So, like you, I think that God is understanding and works things out for the best.