WE have to be ready for wherever
divine providence would
take us. We have to be open to it all the time. Even as we make our
plans and pursue them truly as our own, we should not forget that
nothing in our life is actually outside the providence of God who can
adapt himself to us, even in our worst situations and predicaments,
and still lead us to himself.
The only thing to remember is that God is always around
and is actually intervening and directing our life to him. That is
part of his omnipotence which he exercises both from all eternity and
in time since our creation and all the way to the end of time.
We need to be open to his providence, because even if God
is 100% responsible for our life, we too, in a manner of speaking, are
also 100% responsible for our life. Since we have been created in
God’s image and likeness, we cannot help but have our life immersed
also in God’s life. We need to learn to live our life with him as
consciously and as freely as possible with him.
But we have to be ready for wherever God’s providence
would take us because God leads us in very mysterious ways. Remember
what Christ told Peter: “When you were young, you girded yourself and
walked where you would. But when you are old, you will stretch out
your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not
wish to go.” (Jn 21,18)
There will be things in our life that will be beyond our
human notice, and much less, our human control. We have to trust God’s
providence even if things look terrible, impossible, or inhuman when
judged simply by human standards.
Let us remember the story of Abraham who was asked to
offer his only son, Isaac, in sacrifice to God. That trust Abraham had
in God’s will won him the privilege of being the father of all
nations. God always has a purpose for everything that happens in our
life, or can derive good from whatever evil we commit.
There are actually many mysteries in our life that can
surpass our capacity to comprehend and, much less, to cope with,
including extreme evil. But let’s always remember that where sin or
evil has abounded, the grace of God has abounded even more.
Our Catechism teaches us why God allows evil to happen and
how such evil can occasion a lot of good. “He permits evil to take
place because he respects the freedom of his creatures and,
mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it.” (CCC 311)
“In time we can discover that God in his almighty
providence can bring a good from the consequences of an evil, even a
moral evil, caused by his creatures: ‘It was not you,’ said Joseph to
his brothers, ‘who sent me here, but God… You meant evil against me;
but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should
be kept alive.’
“From the greatest moral evil ever committed—the rejection
and murder of God’s only Son, caused by the sins of all men—God, by
his grace that ‘abounded all the more,’ brought the greatest of goods:
the glorification of Christ and our redemption. But for all that, evil
never becomes a good.” (CCC 312)
It’s good to keep this truth of our faith always in mind
so that whatever happens in our life, as long as we try to be with
Christ, we can manage, with his grace and our effort, and with the
company of saints, to tackle it meritoriously.
We have to learn to be sport and fearless in our life. Let
us avoid simply understanding and reacting to things from a purely
human point of view. Let us assume the mind of God as manifested and
enabled in us by Christ.
We should not be afraid to pursue the thread of our life
especially when it unfolds in a way that is beyond our control. That
would simply mean that it is God leading us the way. We should just
follow it like a good journalist who pursues his lead when it happens
and where it happens. He is only interested in finishing his news
story irrespective of how it turns.
This can only happen if we have a strong faith in God, an
equally strong hope in his will, and a burning charity of his ways. We
can be sure that in spite of difficulties and suffering, everything
will only work out for the good.
take us. We have to be open to it all the time. Even as we make our
plans and pursue them truly as our own, we should not forget that
nothing in our life is actually outside the providence of God who can
adapt himself to us, even in our worst situations and predicaments,
and still lead us to himself.
The only thing to remember is that God is always around
and is actually intervening and directing our life to him. That is
part of his omnipotence which he exercises both from all eternity and
in time since our creation and all the way to the end of time.
We need to be open to his providence, because even if God
is 100% responsible for our life, we too, in a manner of speaking, are
also 100% responsible for our life. Since we have been created in
God’s image and likeness, we cannot help but have our life immersed
also in God’s life. We need to learn to live our life with him as
consciously and as freely as possible with him.
But we have to be ready for wherever God’s providence
would take us because God leads us in very mysterious ways. Remember
what Christ told Peter: “When you were young, you girded yourself and
walked where you would. But when you are old, you will stretch out
your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not
wish to go.” (Jn 21,18)
There will be things in our life that will be beyond our
human notice, and much less, our human control. We have to trust God’s
providence even if things look terrible, impossible, or inhuman when
judged simply by human standards.
Let us remember the story of Abraham who was asked to
offer his only son, Isaac, in sacrifice to God. That trust Abraham had
in God’s will won him the privilege of being the father of all
nations. God always has a purpose for everything that happens in our
life, or can derive good from whatever evil we commit.
There are actually many mysteries in our life that can
surpass our capacity to comprehend and, much less, to cope with,
including extreme evil. But let’s always remember that where sin or
evil has abounded, the grace of God has abounded even more.
Our Catechism teaches us why God allows evil to happen and
how such evil can occasion a lot of good. “He permits evil to take
place because he respects the freedom of his creatures and,
mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it.” (CCC 311)
“In time we can discover that God in his almighty
providence can bring a good from the consequences of an evil, even a
moral evil, caused by his creatures: ‘It was not you,’ said Joseph to
his brothers, ‘who sent me here, but God… You meant evil against me;
but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should
be kept alive.’
“From the greatest moral evil ever committed—the rejection
and murder of God’s only Son, caused by the sins of all men—God, by
his grace that ‘abounded all the more,’ brought the greatest of goods:
the glorification of Christ and our redemption. But for all that, evil
never becomes a good.” (CCC 312)
It’s good to keep this truth of our faith always in mind
so that whatever happens in our life, as long as we try to be with
Christ, we can manage, with his grace and our effort, and with the
company of saints, to tackle it meritoriously.
We have to learn to be sport and fearless in our life. Let
us avoid simply understanding and reacting to things from a purely
human point of view. Let us assume the mind of God as manifested and
enabled in us by Christ.
We should not be afraid to pursue the thread of our life
especially when it unfolds in a way that is beyond our control. That
would simply mean that it is God leading us the way. We should just
follow it like a good journalist who pursues his lead when it happens
and where it happens. He is only interested in finishing his news
story irrespective of how it turns.
This can only happen if we have a strong faith in God, an
equally strong hope in his will, and a burning charity of his ways. We
can be sure that in spite of difficulties and suffering, everything
will only work out for the good.
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