Who or what is in control of my choices in life?
This is the crucial question that St. Paul invites each of us to answer in his letter to the Romans 8:9, 11-13. He reminds us of our new status in Christ, writing, “Brothers and sisters, you are no longer in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit.” But are we being controlled by our fleshly desires and our tendencies toward self-protection, promotion, and gratification? Or are we being led by the Spirit that makes us children of God?
The answer to this question will determine our spiritual life, “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live.” Our choices have consequences for our spiritual life. This is why the most important thing in this life is to discern God’s will in every moment and follow it using the graces that God offers to us.
For us to be spiritually healthy, we must fulfill the will of God in all things out of love for Him, no matter the cost or the consequences of our choices. We belong to Christ, who gave us His Spirit, for “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” This Spirit moves us to do what is pleasing to Him, as long as we cooperate with Him.
Let us reflect on the prayer of Jesus in Matthew 11:25-30. Jesus rejoices in the Father’s eternal will to reveal Himself to those who are favorably disposed. Jesus exclaims, “Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.” Jesus also fulfills His Father’s will to reveal Himself to all creation: “No one knows the Father, except the Son and anyone to whom He wishes to reveal Him.” He devotes His entire life to doing His Father’s will, revealing Him to all humanity. Even in His intense anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus still chose to carry out the Father’s will, praying, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done” (Mt. 26:42).
Jesus offers us two things in the passage—His yoke and rest: “I will give you rest…Take my yoke upon you.” Taking up Jesus’ yoke is to reveal the Father’s love by doing His will. That is why He came into this world, suffered, died, and rose from the dead in His human body. Obviously, the rest that Jesus offers us is not an absence of labor, difficulty, pain, or suffering, but rather the inner peace that comes from uniting ourselves to Him and doing the will of His Father. Nothing will give us this rest until we find and fulfill God’s will in our lives.
How then can we discern whether a particular good choice is God’s will for us at that moment?
1. Increased Gratitude
Firstly, the will of God deepens our relationship with Him and expands our gratitude. Listen to Jesus’ gratitude to the Father and His will: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.” It is as if Jesus cannot contain the great joy and happiness from grasping the Father’s will.
We experience gratitude to God when we do His will, even if it is difficult, challenging, and demanding. Our gratitude prevails in the face of all adversities because it is rooted in relationship with our loving God and Father. We are certain that He wills the best for us all the time, as Jesus teaches, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?” (Mt. 7:11).
2. Decreased Self-Reliance
Secondly, the will of God will draw us towards Jesus, who says, “Come, follow me.” The will of God draws us out of ourselves towards Christ and towards others through Christ. We learn to trust in Jesus and in others—not on ourselves or our resources. Following the will of God does not leave us self-indulgent, self-centered, or self-reliant.
A good sign that we are doing our own will is that we sense a separation from God, who always desires to be near to us. We might also find it difficult to connect with others in a deep and healthy way. We might feel estranged from God, bored with His presence, and more self-centered and preoccupied. Prayer becomes difficult and feels fruitless. We begin to trust more in ourselves and less in God.
3. More Christlike
Thirdly, the will of God teaches us to be like Christ, who says, “Learn from me.” The more that we do the will of God, the more that we share in the experiences of Jesus and the more closely we imitate Him. The will of God becomes a school of interior formation in the very dispositions that we find in Jesus. Jesus promised us an intimate knowledge of Himself when we do the will of His Father, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mt. 12:50).
This is why we will face suffering, trials, rejections, abandonment, temptations, and even visible failures when we seek to do the will of God. We are sharing in all that Christ experiences and are called to act as He did by the grace that He gives us when we do His will. We are not abandoned by God in those moments—we are being schooled to know Jesus more deeply. We can’t know Jesus deeply if we are bent on doing our own will. We may know Him intellectually through books or homilies, but we lack a heartfelt and personal relationship with Him when we ignore His will for us.
4. Lasting Peace
Lastly, the will of God leaves us with inner peace and abiding calm. As Jesus promises, “You will find rest for yourselves.” Notice that He does not promise us a rest from our environment, experiences, or condition. He offers us inner peace, even in the midst of chaos, because we are ready to let go of our wills and embrace the heavenly Father’s.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us make choices based on the flesh alone. We choose only what is pleasant, comfortable, familiar, easy, and pleasurable. We dare not choose anything contrary to the prevailing cultural trends. We dread anything that would go against our personal taste, preference, and wellbeing. We live by the flesh because we are clueless about what Christ has done for us, how He set us free from the dominion of the flesh. As St. Paul writes, “We are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh” (Rom. 8:12). All these acts of succumbing to the flesh only lead to spiritual death and restless lives.
Jesus Christ has not only delivered us from the bondage to the flesh. Through Him, the Father also offers us all the graces that we need to seek, find, and fulfill His holy will in each moment of our lives. We have all things in Him, as Jesus confirms, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father” (Mt. 11:27).
There are two action points we can take to live by the Spirit and fulfill the will of God in all things.
Let us bring to Jesus in prayer the many ways in which we are moved to live by the flesh. We can notice these desires and attitudes without giving in to them. We can beg Jesus for the desire and resolve to fulfill His will at all cost. We can ask Him to open us to receive the power of His Spirit and make choices that show that we belong to Him and are resolved to please Him in everything.
Lastly, let us unite ourselves more completely to Jesus in the Eucharist, where He offers us His precious body, blood, soul and divinity. Jesus fulfilled the will of the Father in His human body. United to His Eucharistic body, we too are united to His will and receive the graces He offers to help us carry it out. This is the only way that we can overcome our weak flesh, follow the Spirit of love, and make choices in accordance with God’s holy will. And these are the only choices that leave us with a blessed life, true happiness, and lasting inner peace.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Image from WikiArt
