God's Will-Some Questions

[falcogreg]

Hello All,

I posted this in another forum but did not get much of a response. Probably wasn’t the right forum. Hopefully, this will receive more attention.

A few days ago, someone posted on one of these forums a question about God’s Will. While it had many responses (including a six parter that was informative), it didn’t really answer the question I have nor did I feel it answered the OP in the way he had asked it. So, here goes.

I am currently working for a small company that is on the ropes. If it goes under, the odds of me getting a job anytime soon are very slim. So, for a number of months I have been praying very fervently for some understanding of what God wants me to do at this time. I could go in 10 different directions from selling everything I own and trying to hunker down (I am married with 2 children) to holding on for dear life and see what happens to a whole bunch of things in between. I’ve even considered looking into missionary life (but very few places want anyone with children and if they do, they require them to be eight or younger) to joining a catholic commune (although I was only able to find one in upstate NY). Like I said, I am going around in circles.

With this in mind, how do we know what God wants us to do? I would gladly do whatever He wants but I don’t know what that is. I keep praying and hope I’ll receive some answer/guidance but I don’t seem to gain any insight or indication to move in any particular direction.

Am I just not praying hard enough or listening close enough? Is there something else I could/should be doing?

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

TIA, Greg

 

[beckycmarie]

Dear Greg,

It’s God’s will for you to have faith and trust Him that no matter what happens, you and your family will be taken care of:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)

Mother Angelica wrote an excellent book on discerning God’s Will. Here is an excerpt you might find helpful.

And here’s a link to the whole book which you can read online:

Two Wills: His and Mine
Mother M. Angelica

 

[Ruben]

Hi Greg,

It happens I was thinking about that same question this morning. What entered my mind upon reflecting on this was that it seems like the most important thing is to configure ourselves to Christ which conforms us to God’s will. I thought about how often we ask God to configure our lives according to our will when it is instead that we will receive everything we desire if in that desire we have configured ourselves to Christ.

God feeds us guidance often in varying increments and time frames. He often uses persons and events in our lives to guide us. Since also it is his grace that helps guide us, the sacraments are crucial, since it is purity of heart, mind and soul that God’s divine will becomes more clearly visible. The effects of grace act upon the mind directing it toward truth and on the will directing it toward good.

I have often had the experience of God spelling things out slowly. I have to admit sometimes it requires great patience at times. If we can compare God spelling out his will for us to someone writing on a chalkboard, it seems like sometimes he answers using one letter at a time, pausing at times, then slowly forming single words which in turn slowly form intelligible sentences, which in turn form concrete directions which finally we can grasp and then act upon. Sometimes God “writes” more quickly than other times. The manner and time of his manifested will of course we must leave up to God.

 

[Lisdogan]

I am waiting also to discern His will for me. But I do not have two children - mine are grown up, and I can make more flexible choices.

Peace be with you; I hold you in my heart, and so many others in the same situation.

Discerning God’s will is, for me and others including religious, one of the most difficult things about being a Christian. We pray, but his answer may not come directly in answer to our prayers. We may not understand or anticipate how his answer will come, and when. I agree that it sometimes comes slowly, sometimes quickly and sometimes apparently not at all. That is perhaps because we are not looking in the right direction, or for an answer to prayer other than the one we expect.

We do not and cannot know God’s plans for our individual lives, which are infinitely small elements within His eternal design for our universe. We cannot comprehend the complexity of his plan, including his plans for us.

You know the ‘chaos theory’: the flutter of a butterfly’s wings somewhere in Asia, may create a stockmarket crash in New York; or a yawn during a board meeting in London may create an agricultural boom in India. We cannot comprehend the inextricably linked events depending on a chain of cause and effect.

You can go back to why you are likely to lose your job. Because your employer is failing; failing because of the economic meltdown; meltdown because of many different factors, each with its own related series of causes and effects. By then however, it gets too jumbled, chaotic to make any sense. God knows; we cannot.

I wish I could give you hope. But I can wish for hope for you; I can pray for hope for you; I can tell you not to lose hope; I can join all the others who are praying likewise.

What is the worst that can happen? Have you ever starved to death? We have lived in Africa for 40 years now, and even though life is utterly unpredictable, and although there were times when we were scraping the bottom of the barrel (my husband is a PhD from Harvard), we did not starve, our children went to school, we had a roof over our heads, and a few good laughs. And then it got better, then it got worse, and then better again.

So, confidence no 1. *Hope *no 2 - goes with confidence. Don’t give up your positive approach no 3. This may be an opportunity for a life change; a chance to find a new outlook on life. You may be worrying for nothing. Or if your worries come true, then take this as a sign that it is time to move on.

I have learned that I can scurry about looking and wondering and worrying and being anxious about a problem. We cannot sit and wait for God’s answers. But a bit of passivity, mindfulness, contemplation and silent communion with God may clarify certain elements of your dilemma and make your choices easier. Go down into yourself where God is; talk to Him. I mean really talk: imagine He is sitting there with you. He will lead you through a series of ideas and questions, and you may come up with an idea that you did not have before. You may just be able to think outside the box you find yourself in.

Some believe that God does not intervene in our lives; some do not believe in miracles. Just keep on believing, but keep on working at finding a solution at the same time.

I know this does not help you on to your next paid employment, which is what you really want. But, looking at things from outside America, I would say that things could be an awful lot worse.

Love in Christ