God's Will and my will

[jlw]

I confess I posted this on another forum, but thought this may be a better place for it:

I have been going through a rough patch lately. Not making good choices, and paying for them. Procrastination, overconfidence, lack of confidence, pushing too hard, or pushing too softly. What ever the case, things have not been going well.

I pray for God to show me the way. I tell him I am weak (as if he doesn’t know this) and am in need of mercy. I go to Mass and pray for the strength to overcome these difficulties, and resolve to dedicate my will toward these ends, but I seem to fail.

I know I choose my will (that is contrary to HIS will) too often. That is the obvious answer. But I try to do what I think is His will, and it doesn’t always prove to be fruitful (yes, patience is a virtue, but I am short on that lately)

The mystery of willpower in our covenant with God is confusing to me right now. Very troubled. Lacking in in my own will power to even follow His will, if you can understand that.

How much is success in this world dependent of our will, how much is it dependent of God’s will??

 

[Fitz]

I think that you can fight God’s will, and if you are very determined not to obey then it will be a long fight/battle. However, you seem like you are very interested in finding God’s plan for you. That being the case, there are many ways you can help yourself to udnerstand God’s will. Church attendance, sacraments, prayer, reading spiritual works/bible, bible study, church missions, listening to Catholic radio, listening to religious music,etc. You get the picture. I found that the more I did these things, the more I understood what was expected of me. I think our society can deaden our response to God. We can tune Him out. When we do that, we become more willful. I may be way off here, and not really attending to your question. There are better people on the forums that can give you more insight. I am just taking a stab at this. Best of luck finding your way, the one God has planned for you.

 

[otm]

Some people seem to have a direct phone line to God; they ask what is His will, and they seem to get a very explicit answer.

The rest of us just seem to stumble around. I say “seem”, because I am not convinced that His will is often that specific. He provides opportunities to do His will, and it is up to us to make the best of the situation, which ultimately is what His will is about.

It almost sounds as if you are a bit frantic to find out what that one thing is that is His will, and then do it. But if His will is to do what is right in front of you, then you will miss it in your frantic search elsewhere.

Does that make any sense?

 

[Munda_cor_meum]

I recommend The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatious.

It does not really lend itself (in my opinion) well to individual contemplation - It seems to be designed more as a guideline for conducting spiritual retreats, but I found the section on “Discernment of Spirits” particularly helpful.

You too may find that it directly addresses many of the issues you raise

 

[Island_Oak]

The biggest battle is already won…you believe God exists and that his loving plan for your life is superior to any you may have for yourself. Pray daily, confess as needed and join the rest of us in that crowded club of sinners who try, fail, and try again , and again , and again…

 

[jlw]

Thank you all for your response and your prayers.

Sometimes, when the pressure is on, it is easy to go into a cave and rationalize that “I’ll deal with this myself” “My problem” etc, and forget God’s mercy or even fellow Catholics, sight unseen, who jump at the opportunity to petition our Lord on my behalf. Thank you.

 

[otm]

jlw:

Thank you all for your response and your prayers.

Sometimes, when the pressure is on, it is easy to go into a cave and rationalize that “I’ll deal with this myself” “My problem” etc, and forget God’s mercy or even fellow Catholics, sight unseen, who jump at the opportunity to petition our Lord on my behalf. Thank you.

As I recall (and it has been awhile) it was St Augustine who said “Pray as if all depends on God, and work as if all depends on you”.

When the pressure is on, you have to make a decision, you have to choose what to act upon. I agree that it is easy to lose sight of the fact that ultimately, God is in control. Don’t beat yourself up. If you blew it, ask forgiveness and then move on. Try to remember even a short prayer (Lord, gudie me), and tyhen do your best.