God’s Will vs. My Will

Our success or failure depends upon the harmony or disharmony of our individual will with the Divine Will. -- Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

It is the Divine Will that is manifested throughout the whole universe, which has created the whole universe; and it is part of the divine will that manifests itself through us.
Everything we do in life is governed and directed by that power. ... Now coming to the question of the will of man as opposed to the will of God: which is which?
We understand the difference when we perceive that the nature of will power differs only according to whether it exists in its fullness, or whether it is limited.
The will power in its fullness is divine power; the will power in its limited state is the individual will.
Resignation is a quality of the saintly souls.
It is bitter in taste but sweet in result.
Whatever a man's power and position in life may be, he has always to meet with a more powerful will, in whatever form it may manifest.
In truth this is the divine will.
By opposing the divine will one may break oneself; but by resigning oneself to the divine will one opens up a way.
We come to understand that there are two aspects of will working through all things in life.
One is the individual will, the other the divine will.
When a person goes against the divine will, naturally his human will fails and he finds difficulties, because he is swimming against the tide.
The moment a person works in consonance, in harmony with the divine will, things become smooth.
Sometimes things are accomplished without the least effort.
When it is the divine will it is like something floating on water; it advances without effort.
Problems and actions may be achieved in a moment then, whilst at other times the smallest problem cannot be solved without great difficulty.
One finds that some persons are very clever and experienced in industrial work or in politics; and they have striven very hard to attain their goal, and yet have accomplished nothing; they are always a failure.
And there are others who take up a thing, and without much effort, without much worry on their part they complete it and attain their goal.
All this is accounted for by harmony with the divine will.
Everyone experiences such a thing at some time or other.
When things are in harmony with the divine will, everything is there; we just glance towards a thing and it is found, as in the saying, 'Word spoken, action done.'
When we strive with all the material in our hands and yet cannot achieve our desire, that is when the matter is contrary to the divine will.
Our success or failure all depends upon the harmony or disharmony of our individual will with the divine will. ... Contentment and perfect resignation open up a harmonious feeling and bring the divine will into harmony with our own.
Our blessing now becomes a divine blessing, our words divine words, our atmosphere a divine atmosphere, although we seem to be limited beings; for our will becomes absorbed into the whole, and so our will becomes the will of God.

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

Within

God is within you; you are His instrument, and
through you He expresses Himself to the external world.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

 

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

In reality God is within man; man is the instrument of God and through him God experiences the external world. Prayer is the way of conveying the God within to the God without; and thought, speech and gesture make the prayer complete.

The words 'within oneself' might confuse some people. They might think 'within oneself' means inside one's body; but that is because man is ignorant of himself. Man has a very poor idea of himself, and this keeps him in ignorance of his real self. If man only knew how large, how wide, how deep, how high is his being, he would think, act, and feel differently; but with all his width, depth, and height, if man is not conscious of them he is as small as he thinks himself to be. The essence of milk is butter, the essence of the flower is honey, the essence of grapes is wine, and the essence of life is wisdom.

For the secret of all knowledge that one acquires in the world, whether worldly knowledge or spiritual knowledge, is the knowledge of the self. For instance, music is played outside, but where is it realized? It is realized within. A good word or a bad word is spoken outside, but where is it realized? It is realized within. Then where is the realization of this whole manifestation, all this creation that stands before us in all its aspects? Its realization is within. And at the same time the error of man always continues. Instead of finding it within he always wants to find it without. It is just like a man who wants to see the moon and looks for it on the ground. And if a man sought for thousands of years for the moon by looking on the earth, he will never see it. He will have to lift up his head and look at the sky. And so with the man who is in search of the mystery of life outside; he will never find it. For the mystery of life is to be found within.

 

Devoted To The Task -- Not The Completion Of It

God hasn't called me to be successful.
He's called me to be faithful.
--Mother Teresa

 

A reporter asked Mother Teresa how she could bear to go on working at such a hopeless task day after day and year after year. The people she cared for were so wretchedly poor. Many of them, very sick. How could she continue with such dedication, knowing that all the poverty and sickness would still be there long after she had died? Didn't she realize she couldn't win?

Her explanation was simple: Of course she knew the task was immense, but "finishing" wasn't her purpose. Mother Teresa had turned her life and will over to God, and her work was what she believed to be God's will for her. Because of this, she was devoted to the task itself, not to the completion of it.

We too can learn to be receptive to a higher purpose. We can direct our energies into causes we believe in, even if we know the job will never be finished. We can visit with friends and family and not try to win a verbal exchange. We can accept the will of our Higher Power and thereby find serenity.

Today, I will let go of the driving need to succeed or to impress others.

Instead, I will be receptive to my Higher Power's will.

 

Days of Healing, Days of Joy

by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty

Control Robs Me of Serenity

God, grant me serenity today, 

along with wisdom and acceptance, 

so I can fulfill your will.

Labor Day Prayer

With confidence in God’s love for us, let us pray:

Look kindly on your servants, O Lord, our God.

You have called some to serve by work and some to serve by waiting: ‑ grant just working conditions to laborers and hope to the unemployed.

Look kindly on your servants, O Lord, our God.

You have called some to serve in public ways and some to serve in the privacy of home: ‑ keep us all faithful to the tasks you have given us.

Look kindly on your servants, O Lord, our God.

You have called some to serve in religious ministries and some to serve in the secular world: ‑ fix our focus on the Gospel wherever we serve.

Look kindly on your servants, O Lord, our God.

You have called some to serve in active ways and some to serve by suffering: ‑ sustain us all in faith, hope, and love.

Look kindly on your servants, O Lord, our God.

O God, the giver of all good gifts, you give the gift of work as blessing and as task.

In whatever work you have given us to do, small or great, grant that we may serve with love and praise with joy, through Christ our Lord.  Amen

Fear Not

Even amid the storms that threaten to sweep me away, I need not fear:  Jesus Christ, God-with-us, keeps me even through the wildest of storms.

God is the God of all of life – the chaos of the sea, the security of the land, the storm, and the stillness.

 

Fear not, I am with you;
be not dismayed;
I am your God.

I will strengthen you, and help you,
and uphold you with my right hand of justice.

(Is 41:10)

 

It is better for us to reach eternal bliss
after a few difficulties than to go down
into the depths of hell after brief joy.

~~ St. Caerarius of Arles

EGO = Edging God Out

Whatever problems confront me, large or small, they can be solved wisely.

Or they can be solved my way.  The choice is mine.

If I want to know God's will, I must pause and ask: "What would God have me do?"

Why, then, is it so difficult for me just to pause, to meditate, and to allow God to guide me?

The reason is my ego.

I know -- though sometimes I forget -- that by myself my capabilities are nil.

Came To Believe . . ., pp. 60-61

 

I asked from the heart, and I received.

 

 

~~~ @@ ~~~

 

You Take Over

I can't handle it, God.

You take over.

 

~~~ @@ ~~~

I Don't Understand Why

I imagine that the present 

is as it should be.

It is perfectly unfolding even 

if I don't understand why.

Evelyn Rodriguez

 

Cup of Coffee

From Gerry Straub's Blog:

Cup of Coffee

Each day needs to be a pilgrimage

into my own heart.
“This day is yours, Lord,”

I say each day upon rising.

Yet, before I even finish

my first cup of coffee,

the day has become mine.
God never shouts to be heard over our noise.

Only silence gives God a chance to speak.
The soul that waits on God,

patiently and unhurriedly,

will eventually be filled
with the realization he or she
is infinitely loved.

from Thoughts of a Blind Beggar

The Blindness Of Temptation

The most blinding of temptations can be to appease the powerful or please those I love rather than obey the will of my God.

The Key To Freedom

Holding resentments against others hurts me.

Forgiveness can make me glad I'm alive today.

Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.
--Hannah Arendt

Resentments keep me in the past, a past that can never be relived.
Resentments keep a stranglehold on my mind.
Resentments keep me from appreciating the beauty of a moment.
Resentments stop me from hearing the loving voices of friends.
I forget that I have a mission to fulfill God's divine plan for my life.
Clearly the choice to resent no one is my opportunity to free my mind and heart for the real activities God hopes I will attend to.
Our purpose in this life goes unfulfilled when we're consumed by resentments.
Fortunately, my freedom comes when I decide to forgive whatever transgressions are made against me.

# @ # @ # @ #

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton's path took many unexpected turnings because she followed God's will rather than her own. What matters most is the path God chose took her to him. In her obedience lay the source of the wisdom which she taught others to follow in God's way.

Elizabeth Seton told her sisters, “The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner he wills it; and thirdly, to do it because it is his will.”

Good Morning

Good Morning, This is God!

I will be handling all your problems today.

I will not need your help.

So have an awesome day.

Lord, take me where you want me to go;

Let me meet whom you want me to meet;

Tell me what you want me to say

And keep me out of your way.

God Needs People

As God needed Abraham, Isaac, David, and the rest, so God needs me, if only to witness his love and mercy, as I have received it -- in rich abundance.
So it makes eminent good sense for me to freely make a generous gift of myself to God for him to use me as he wills.
What nobler path could I tread through life.
And so, with Saint Ignatius' inspired words, I give myself over to God for him to use me as he wills,

Take Lord and receive all my liberty,

My memory, my understanding and my entire will.

All I have and call my own.

Whatever I have or hold, you have given me.

I return it all to you and surrender it wholly

To be governed by your will.

Give me only your love and grace

And I am rich enough and ask for nothing more.

--Monsignor James Turro

Loving Father, you always work through your people.

Deepen my belonging, and let all
my relationships testify to your love.

A Simple Formula

It's a simple formula;
do your best and
somebody might like it.
--Dorothy Baker

My higher power will help me do whatever task lies before me.
And no task will be mine except those for which I am readied.
My job is simply to go forth, taking God as our partner, and set about completing the task.
I will not falter if I remember where my strength rests, where the guidance lies.

Self-esteem is one of the byproducts of a job done with God's help.
An additional byproduct is that I learn more quickly to rely on God's direction and strength the next time, thus reducing the time I give to fear.

I can be successful today, in every endeavor, if I let God manage my moves.

Mercifully look upon me, O Lord, and

govern all my thoughts,
and all my words,
and all my actions.

Take me where you want me to go;

let me meet whom you want me to meet;

tell me what you want me to say;

and keep me out of you way.

Thy will be done in me and
through me today and always.
Amen

Centered Withing My Higher Power

We find that as we become more centered
within the Higher Power part of us,
our ego becomes less real, less threatening, less compelling.

--Jerry Hirshfield

It's a struggle at times for me to remember that my Higher Power never moves away.
God is as close as my breath, awaiting my invitation to take charge.
Frequently this strikes me as new information.
But each time a friend or a particular reading triggers my recall; I relax, because I know that God is taking over.
Once again I trust that all is well.

Thy Will Be Done

In a world and a Church sincerely devoted to doing many good works that could bring about peace, I might sometimes overlook the fact that the greatest work of all is prayer.
I dare not abandon the good work, but let me remember the peace is ultimately God's desire and God's achievement: let me prayer earnestly, "Thy will be done.

The Right Attitude

If I am to know the will of God, I must have the right attitude toward life.
I must first of all know what life is, and to know the purpose of my existence.

It is all very well to declare that I exist in order to save my soul and give glory to God by doing so.
And it is all very well to say that, in order to do this, I obey certain commandments and keep certain counsels.
Yet knowing this much, and indeed knowing all moral theology and ethics and canon law, I might still go through life conforming myself to certain indications of God's will without ever fully giving myself to God.
For that, in the last analysis, is the real meaning of His will.
He does not need our sacrifices, He asks for our selves.
And if He prescribes certain acts of obedience, it is not because obedience is the beginning and the end of end of everything. It is only the beginning.
Charity, divine union, transformation in Christ: these are the end.

--Thomas Merton

No Man Is An Island: 63

What God wants of me is myself.

That means to say that His will for me points to one thing:
the realization, the discovery, and the fulfillment
of my self, my true self, in Christ.

No Man Is An Island: 63-64.

To my cost, I sometimes think that obedience to God's will is an iron cage.
On the contrary, God wills that everyone be saved: set free, made whole, brought to the joy of the kingdom.
Mary pondered and did the will of God not reluctantly, out of sense of martyred duty, but with her whole heart , in delight