Can you really know the will of God? I mean, can you really know the will of God for your life, for your day-to-day life? Indubitably. And it’s not as hard as you might think. 

If you know and follow your vocation in life, this is a huge help to accomplishing the quotidian will of God. Many windows have closed in your life so that you can walk through one beautiful door and focus on this distinct path of loving God and neighbour. If you are single at the moment, you have more leeway in choosing between goods that are pleasing to the Lord. In any case, we should never fret that God has some arcane plan for us, and if we can’t figure out, or if we unwittingly wreck it somewhere along the way, we have missed the boat and our life is ruined. The will of God is never behind us, but always before us, and He wants to help us know and live it. Some people spend a good portion of their lives truly wondering and worrying if they are doing God’s will or not. The number one action-item we can do to know the will of God for ourselves is to ask Him. Continuously. “What wilt Thou have me do?”

The mother of one of our Sisters once lamented to her daughter: “It’s so easy for you to know the will of God! Everything is programmed and laid out for you, every minute of every day! We ‘people of the world,’ can never be sure we’re doing His will.” Really? I think this mother of eight probably spent every minute of her day doing nothing but the will of God as she fulfilled her wifely and motherly duties.

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God is the giver of our free will, and He delights when we use it well. Freedom is for the sake of love, so we can choose love. We can’t make someone love us. As soon as coercion is involved, it ceases to be love. Often when people decide they want to be closer to God, want to know Him more intimately, want to be and do their very best for Him, they begin inquiring as to how they might do His will more precisely, more specifically. This is a wonderful thing. At this stage, some people will join a spiritual or charitable organization they feel particularly drawn to in which they can spend their spiritual and physical energies. Some might take private vows, join a secular institute, Third Order, confraternity, parish ministry or prayer group to formalize or solemnize their desire to serve God more intentionally.

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The Bible tells us on every page what the will of God is. We simply have to apply it to ourselves and our circumstances. If you are following the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, leading a sacramental life, rooting out vices and acquiring virtues, adhering faithfully to a prayer routine—you are doing the will of God. “This is the will of God: your sanctification.” So, if you’re working earnestly on getting holy, you are most certainly doing the will of God! 

Recently, Jesus’ words kind of shook me: “It is not those who say, ‘Lord! Lord!’ who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of my heavenly Father.” Crikey! I do pray a lot and say verbal/rote/aspirational prayers during the day…but am I also doing the will of God? Christianity is not faith alone, but faith and works together or “love expressing itself through good works”—and are these the right works for me, and am I carrying them out they way He wants? All good fodder for further serene (not panicky) There’s always room for improvement. 

Do you have a big decision to make in your life? You may need some extra advice from a wise and holy Catholic spiritual advisor/director. Do you find that you’re generally indecisive? Pray for the Holy Spirit’s gift of discernment. God doesn’t want us to always be outsourcing our choices, but to lean as directly on Him as we can, and we can grow into being a more confidently decisive person with His grace.

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Pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.” Your desire to do His will is precious in the eyes of God.

Sr. Helena Raphael Burns, fsp, is a Daughter of St. Paul. She holds a Masters in Media Literacy Education and studied screenwriting at UCLA. HellBurns.com  Twitter/X: @srhelenaburns  #medianuns  Instagram: @medianunscanada