Finding and Fulfilling the Will of God

What is the most important thing in this life? What is that one thing that we should seek above all and embrace wholeheartedly no matter what it costs us? What is that thing that we should be ready to sacrifice all for the sake of that thing? What is that thing that brings meaning and purpose to our life here on earth?

St. John Henry Newman answers the above questions correctly by writing, “God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission.” The answer to this most important question does not lie in us but in God’s will for creating us and giving us all the gifts that we possess.

The most important thing in this life is to find the specific mission for which God created each of us and fulfill that mission out of love for Him. God has created and is preserving us now, giving us amazing gifts to fulfill His will in this life. In the words of Catholic bestselling author and speaker, Matthew Kelly: “When we are doing the will of God, that alone is enough to satisfy us. When we are not, all the pleasure and possession of the world are not.”

However, finding the will of God for us is not an easy thing, mainly because of many erroneous ideas about the will of God. While some people think that the will of God is something that they find pleasant or comfortable, others think that the most painful and demanding thing is the will of God for them. Some think that the will of God is something that should always lead to success or bring them fulfillment, satisfaction, and inner peace.

Indeed, God’s will may include some of these things. However, we fail to find the will of God when we begin the search for God’s will by focusing on ourselves, our likes, our talents, or even the needs of others.

Our search for the will of God must begin with Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. It is in Jesus Christ that we are called to belong to God, to be consecrated, and set apart and gifted for His purpose: “God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph. 1:4). It is in Jesus Christ that we are called for a specific mission. It is also in Him that we receive the grace to embrace and fulfill that mission.

When Jesus was handed the scroll to read from in the Nazareth synagogue, He could have found any other passage to read from. But He chose to declare His Father’s will for Him and the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill that mission, reading, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”

It seems Jesus wanted us to know that His primary focus was to fulfill His Father’s will, no matter the cost or the consequences. He was gifted with the Holy Spirit for our salvation and for the glory of the Father. He would not abandon this divine will or use the gift of the Spirit for a selfish purpose, confirming, “Today, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk. 4:18-19, 21).

This is why we must turn to Jesus if we are going to find God’s will for us and connect with the power of the Spirit to fulfill it. Without this communion with Jesus and participation in His Spirit, we can only guess or imagine what our true mission in life really is.  

Here are three appropriate steps for finding the will of God for us.  

When we spend time contemplating our Lord Jesus Christ, we allow His Spirit to take control of our thoughts and desires. We slowly start desiring to follow Jesus more closely and to imitate His fidelity to His mission. As Jesus communicates His desires for us, we slowly begin to let go of our own plans and agendas. His Spirit also fills us with a great love that dispels all our fears and leaves us with courage and hope.  

This is why spiritual practices like meditating on the Sacred Scriptures, contemplating the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, and Eucharistic adoration are powerful means of finding the will of God for us. These practices also help us to embrace and fulfill the will of God no matter the sacrifices involved.

One clear sign that we are following the will of the Lord is that it brings us deep abiding joy, even as it challenges us to follow Jesus more closely, even in His passion, death, and suffering. We cannot find and embrace the will of God for us when we are still seeking complete contentment in the temporal and worldly joys.

Jesus found joy and strength in doing the will of the Father, when He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work” (Jn. 4:34). We too find the will of God for us when we begin to find strength and joy in Him, His love for us, His saving grace, and our eternal destiny with Him. As Scripture says, “Rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength” (Neh. 8:10). We cannot fully embrace God’s will for us when we are trusting or rejoicing in ourselves, our excellence, or in other creatures.

The will of God will surely bring us out of ourselves towards others in selfless service. Our “yes” to the will of God is also a firm “yes” to belong to others in His Mystical Body and to serve them all for Christ’s sake with the gifts that we have received from Him. 

Because we have all been baptized into one body in the one Spirit, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy” (1 Cor. 12:26). We know that we are rejecting the will of God for us when we are either disconnected from others or insensitive to their needs.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us begin today to search for the will of God through a deep communion with Jesus Christ and never stop searching for His will. His specific mission for each of us will never change even as it unfolds with time.

Jesus, who fulfilled His mission by the power of the Spirit, offers Himself to us in each Mass to communicate this Spirit to us. By the power of this same Spirit, we too can find and fulfill our specific mission from God. And this is what matters most in life.

Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!

Photo by Warren on Unsplash