In the first several of my articles, I would like to talk about how to go about knowing God’s will. The first step in this process is oftentimes the most difficult and is a lifelong task, that is to be open to God’s will.
We like to be the ones in control of our own lives but if we are to live this life serving God we have to be willing to give this control over to God who is truly in control. This openness oftentimes stretches us because our will is not always the same as God’s. Sometimes it can take us while to get used to whatever it is that God is asking of us and many times the thing that we would rather do is not what God is truly asking of us. Sometimes God asks us to do things that are not how we would like them or sometimes they don’t really seem to make sense according to our thoughts but God’s will is what is best for our lives and doing His will ultimately is the way to heaven.
Since each of us struggles against our pride, we want to be in control and want to have our own desires fulfilled, it is often pretty difficult to be open to His will. Because of our pride we do not often times listen to what God is asking of us. Maybe we simply do not ask God what He would have us do in a certain situations or maybe we do know His will and because it is not what we want then we fail to do it.
In order to know and do God’s will we should always be willing to hand everything over to Him. Openness to God’s will takes humility and trust in God. God is all good and loving and so when we entrust our lives to Him in every aspect and seek to know what He wants of us it is then that our lives begin to become properly ordered.
So, the first step to knowing God’s will is to have humility and trust. Pray! Ask Him for the grace of humility and trust in Him. Ask for the grace to know His will. If you are afraid of what He might ask or don’t desire to truly do God’s will then ask Him for the grace and courage to want what He wants. After asking to know His will we must then be open, so we must then begin to listen.
Fr. Jacquemin
