God has a will, a purpose, a mission for each and every one of us. The way that we pray to find direction and understanding of God’s will in our lives is called discernment. We usually think of discernment when we reach a major crossroads in our life, a big decision to make regarding our vocation to married life, a religious vocation, a new job or a big move. We really should be discerning on a daily basis, listening to God and working to live out His plan for us.
How can we know what God is calling us to do? Ask! “Sometimes we can be headstrong” and not want to take orders from anyone, but the work of God is noble, says Fr. Sam Martin, priest of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and regular contributor to The Inner LifeTMon Relevant Radio.
Fr. Martin’s father used to tell him, “it’s best to plan your work and then work your plan, otherwise you’ll just come at your day chaotically and don’t have any organization. But if you know what you’re going to do, then you’ll do it in a more purposeful and efficient way.” When we discern daily, we give more direction to our daily tasks, doing all things for the glory of God.
“God has given us some work to do—some part in His vineyard. There are souls whose salvation is in some way reliant on us saying yes to God. It’s a noble work, a beautiful work. It’s not something that we can fully understand even if we’re sincere in trying to know God’s will,” says Fr. Martin.
How do we know if we are doing God’s will? “We’ll have peace … but we’ll also have some uncertainty. If we had the certitude that we wanted, there would be no room for Faith,” says Fr. Martin. God allows us to have uncertainty “because He wanted to leave some room that we could trust Him.” We should continue to ask God for the grace to know and follow His will each day, but not let discernment make us anxious. “Don’t worry about it … just try to practice your Faith the best you can.”
For more with Fr. Sam Martin on Daily Discernment, click HERE.