Finding God's Will in Your Life
You can weigh the pros and cons of decisions; find the answers
Richard J. Hauser, SJ
| Jesus's life was dominated by the desire always to do the will of His Father. Jesus teaches His disciples that this must also be their desire: "None of those who cry out, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of God, but only the one that does the will of My Father in heaven" (Mt. 7:21). And Jesus teaches His disciples to pray that God's will be done "on earth as it is in heaven." We Christians have always agreed that God does have a will for us. However, we have not agreed what this will includes. Does God's will include only those universally binding norms that flow from scripture, from duly constituted authority, or from the right use of our reasoning power? Or does God's will also extend to personal decisions that cannot be deduced from the above norms, decisions regarding the married or single state of life, choice of ministries and other significant decisions?
The problem has troubled me much over the years. It is my belief that God does indeed have a will for us that involves particular decisions in life, |
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An important clarification is in order on the meaning of God's will. I do not believe that God has a master plan for my life which will be revealed to me through my method. I do believe, however, that God desires I choose those alternatives in my life - all good in themselves - that are more for God's Kingdom, that is, for the love and service of God's people. These alternatives are then God's will for me. And I do believe these alternatives present themselves to me through the use of my method. My reason for this belief is simple: God is committed to the fullest expansion of the Kingdom possible in this world and can only achieve this expansion through us. Consequently, I believe God calls us through the gift of the Spirit within ourselves to make those choices that more directly foster His Kingdom on earth. I do not believe, however, that God condemns us for not choosing this will; rejecting this will is not a sin. Jesus did not condemn the rich young man for refusing to leave all and follow Him. God's will is, then, God's preferred way for our lives because it is our way to do the most good for the Kingdom. I also believe that this will is the path to our greatest happiness and fulfilment in life.
The guidelines I have evolved fall into three categories; conditions that must be present before using this method of finding God's will, the method itself, and finally, confirmation of the decision made through the method. The method cannot be used unless certain conditions are present. To ensure the conditions are present I must answer four questions.
| 1. | Do I believe God has a will for me in this decision? |
| It is my personal position that God has a will that includes not only our state of life (married, single, priestly or religious) and major choice of service within that state (homemaker, business person, teacher), but also significant choices within our current service or ministry, providing of course, they bear in some way upon the Kingdom of God. For example, in my own life I believe I have been led by God's Spirit to be a Jesuit priest and a college theology teacher. Furthermore, I believe that God will guide me to make significant decisions within this state of life and ministry. For instance, I regularly make decisions regarding accepting requests for special presentations and workshops. I regard these as significant since they take much time both for preparation as well as for presentation. I believe God guides me toward making decisions that are for the greater service of the Kingdom. These decisions I then regard as God's will for me. | |
| 2. | Do I believe that God will reveal His will to me? |
| We must believe that God will make His will known to us through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will transform our inner experiences, that is, our thinking, willing and feeling, and lead us to a conviction that one alternative promotes God's Kingdom more than the other. For instance, on the basis of this conviction I will accept or not accept a request for special presentations. It is important to note that the sign God uses to reveal God's will is a quality of our own inner experience. The sign is not some type of external occurrence. The Spirit always works in the human heart. We can expect that this is where the sign of God's will is to be found. | |
| 3. | Do I really want to know God's will? |
| This is the crucial question. We may be entering the discernment process intending to have our own initial convictions confirmed. If this is the case, the Spirit will have a difficult time breaking through our resistance. I experienced this truth dramatically my second year of high school. In the January during my senior retreat I asked God whether or not I should become a Jesuit. "God" told me "no." Upon reflection I can see that I was totally closed to God's will unless it happened to confirm my prior decision not to apply to the Jesuits. My resistance was caused by the three factors that typically impede our freedom: group preference, inner-dividedness and rationalisation. My friends were all going on to college; why should I be different? College and a professional career were the way to the good life; why should I give up possessions and family? And besides, since I would doubtless be wealthy, couldn't I do as much good for the church by my generous contributions? In March of my senior year I finally asked God what God wanted me to do with my life. I had finally opened myself to the Spirit and was no longer seeking to have my initial inclinations confirmed. | |
| 4. | Do I intend to carry out God's will when it is made known to me? |
| The response to this question is an index of our sincerity in answering the third question affirmatively. If we do not intend to implement God's will when we are seeking to discover it, we wil never find it. By sheer effort of our will, we will simply confirm our prior inclination For instance, since I had no intention of actually entering the Jesuits in January of my senior year, I could not discover God's will. Many of us are not truly free when we look for God's will; indeed, often our resistance is not even conscious. But using the method I'm proposing does not presume total freedom. |
However, it does presume awareness of resiatance at some level so we can eventually deal with it. Often it is only through the use of the method itself that we recognise the resistance and ask for God's help in dealing with it. I believe in March of my senior year I finally became aware of my resistance. i recall at this time truly asking what God wanted me to do with my life - no strings attached!