Scripture:
Reflection:
“To do your will, O my God, is my delight…” Psalm 40: 9
Everyone wants to have some delight in their lives. The Psalmist writes that doing God’s will brings peace and delight. However, figuring out God’s will can be tricky and challenging. Many of the decisions we face are not choosing between good and evil. Two courses of action can be equally valid on the surface. How does one go about discerning God’s will? (Maryanne Hannan, Living With Christ, Thursday, January 21, 2021)
- Set aside time to pray that God will increase one’s desire to do God’s will.
- Ask for God’s guidance and direction.
- Listen to God’s voice manifested in an urging, a prompting or recurrent thought.
- Clear your mind of preconceived notions of what is best for you.
- Examine one’s motives and intentions.
- Seek wise council from a friend, a pastor or spiritual advisor. (Meadow Rue Merrfill 7 Steps to Discerning God’s Will in Difficult Situations, April 24, 2017
- Trust your instincts. You might feel like something is not quite right or a nagging uncertainty. Pray that God will give you clarity and peace. (Mary Gallagher, How To Discern God’s Will in Any Situation, Simple Life/Simple Faith, May 11, 2018)
- Recall your meaning and purpose of your baptism and your vocation in life.
- Choose the course of action that will affirm your baptism, faith, and vocation.
Through the process of discerning God’s will may we find peace and delight.
Carl Middleton is a theologian/ethicist and a member of the Passionist Family.