Trusting God

[Drew518]

I’ll make this quick. Basically I was down in the dumps today. Just thinking about how hard things are. I realize I need to trust God and everything will be ok. Everything in life, even if it isn’t initially good, will work out. So my quick question is how do develop more trust in God and get frustrated?

 

[Dorothy]

Feelings come and go. When feelings are getting you down, use your will to make acts of trust such as “Jesus I trust in you”. Use other prayer aspirations as well. The “down” feeling most likely will not just vanish instantly,…but you are showing the Lord you trust him without having good feelings. He recognizes your effort and it will bear fruit in due time.

 

[SighGuy]

Oh, man. Good question.

I wish I had a good answer!

Here’s what I’ve done. Over the past two years since my conversion/reversion, I spent most of 2013 in abject existential misery although I avidly read the Bible, read up all about the Church, read works from the saints, and started to process my life. I was really putting myself in a mindset that I wanted to become a monk, and that was my goal in life. I tell you, man, I was miserable. I preferred to be dead, just about every day! I would sleep as much as I could, just so I wouldn’t be awake! I don’t say this to depress you, but to encourage you, to see that I was in the same boat.

In the beginning of this year I had the very intense experience of vocational retreats at some monasteries. Somewhere along the line it came to me what I had been doing wrong. My goal was to become a monk! What a shallow goal, what an empty design!

Because our goal has to be seeking the Kingdom of God! Loving God. Everything else must be an objective, the route we take to accomplish that goal. Being a monk, a father, a priest… these are objectives, they are not ends in themselves!

But I doubt I would have come to that understanding if God hadn’t let me suffer my way through it. Oh, 2014 was a beautiful year! I feel so different than I used to. And yet, how far still to go, to become a great saint!

Just keep pushing in the direction you’re going. You’ll eventually come to a light, as long as you don’t fall away. How can you avoid falling away? Have faith in the Church-- commit yourself to Her ways, follow Her even when you disagree, and struggle to understand why She’s right and you’re not! Read up about all of the Saints-- three especially helpful ones to me are Saint Joan of Arc, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Joan of Arc by Herself and Her Witnesses, The Interior Castle, and The Story of a Soul (or better yet, the Complete Thérèse of Lisieux)

Pray, pray a lot, especially to your Blessed Mother for help! Pray the Rosary every day. Saint Louis de Montfort says that no one prays the Rosary daily and is a sinner-- he either quits the Rosary or quits sinning! Not in an absolute sense, obviously, but the sentiment is good.

One of the most important resources I had was recommended to me by a monk (oh, by the way, it’s still my objective), and that was Saint Alphonsus Liguori’s Uniformity to the Will of God.
ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/UNIFORMI.TXT

 

[ynotzap]

I’ll make this quick. Basically I was down in the dumps today. Just thinking about how hard things are. I realize I need to trust God and everything will be ok. Everything in life, even if it isn’t initially good, will work out. So my quick question is how do develop more trust in God and get frustrated?

Trust and Hope are interlinked. Hope is a virtue given by the Holy Spirit, along with Faith, and Love. Like any virtue, we become stronger the more we practice it. So when the occasion arises, and it will, that cause worry or anxiety, then we pray “Jesus I trust you, help me in my lack of trust.” Also to trust God is to love Him, acknowledging His love for you, His goodness, showing confidence in Him. It brings with it the peace that the world can’t give and His care for you. It brings permanent security no matter what happens.

 

[Dorothy]

Oh, man. Good question.

I wish I had a good answer!

Here’s what I’ve done. Over the past two years since my conversion/reversion, I spent most of 2013 in abject existential misery although I avidly read the Bible, read up all about the Church, read works from the saints, and started to process my life. I was really putting myself in a mindset that I wanted to become a monk, and that was my goal in life. I tell you, man, I was miserable. I preferred to be dead, just about every day! I would sleep as much as I could, just so I wouldn’t be awake! I don’t say this to depress you, but to encourage you, to see that I was in the same boat.

In the beginning of this year I had the very intense experience of vocational retreats at some monasteries. Somewhere along the line it came to me what I had been doing wrong. My goal was to become a monk! What a shallow goal, what an empty design!

Because our goal has to be seeking the Kingdom of God! Loving God. Everything else must be an objective, the route we take to accomplish that goal. Being a monk, a father, a priest… these are objectives, they are not ends in themselves!

But I doubt I would have come to that understanding if God hadn’t let me suffer my way through it. Oh, 2014 was a beautiful year! I feel so different than I used to. And yet, how far still to go, to become a great saint!

Just keep pushing in the direction you’re going. You’ll eventually come to a light, as long as you don’t fall away. How can you avoid falling away? Have faith in the Church-- commit yourself to Her ways, follow Her even when you disagree, and struggle to understand why She’s right and you’re not! Read up about all of the Saints-- three especially helpful ones to me are Saint Joan of Arc, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Joan of Arc by Herself and Her Witnesses, The Interior Castle, and The Story of a Soul (or better yet, the Complete Thérèse of Lisieux)

Pray, pray a lot, especially to your Blessed Mother for help! Pray the Rosary every day. Saint Louis de Montfort says that no one prays the Rosary daily and is a sinner-- he either quits the Rosary or quits sinning! Not in an absolute sense, obviously, but the sentiment is good.

One of the most important resources I had was recommended to me by a monk (oh, by the way, it’s still my objective), and that was Saint Alphonsus Liguori’s Uniformity to the Will of God.
ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/UNIFORMI.TXT

Thank you, and the Holy Spirit, for that insightful post.

 

[Mystical_Seeker]

Are you down in the dumps because of what you believe is coming in your life, and that it isn’t acceptable?

Then how about trusting God for a small time? Like if I can set aside 15 minutes where I know that I will be fed, and safe, and can just relax and ponder the goodness of the Lord. Or five minutes. Or two.

The trick is not in the amount of time, but in the process of deciding that for X amount of time, Y is not on the menu to be worried about!

Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow. That’s hard when hope is low especially, but if we can get used to “not worrying” for just a few minutes that can be a start. Sometimes I can enjoy a distraction like a project or comedy – something that absorbs my mind’s attention. I know that’s only temporary but it “proves” that worry at any given moment is optional.

Ultimately if I can “not worry” without having to resort to distractions, then I will be at peace and I can better handle whatever does come tomorrow even if it’s unpleasant. That isn’t always easy in practical life, but it’s a way to peaceful improvements IME.

MS