Live in a constant yes

“When I became aware of God’s great plans for me, I was frightened at their greatness and felt myself quite incapable of fulfilling them, and I began to avoid interior conversations with Him, filling up the time with vocal prayer. I did this out of humility, but I soon recognized it was not true humility, but rather a great temptation from the devil. When, on one occasion, instead of interior prayer, I took up a book of spiritual reading, I heard these words spoken distinctly and forcefully within my soul, You will prepare the world for My final coming. These words moved me deeply, and although I pretended not to hear them, 1 understood them very well and had no doubt about them. Once, being tired out from this battle of love with God, and making constant excuses on the grounds that I was unable to carry out this task, I wanted to leave the chapel, but some force held me back and I found myself powerless. Then I heard these words, You intend to leave the chapel, but you shall not get away from Me, for I am everywhere. You cannot do anything of yourself, but with me you can do all things.”

We can be certain that God has great things in mind for us. He calls us to a greatness we could never imagine. God’s Divine Will often calls us out of our comfort zone and requires great trust of Him and abandonment to His Holy Will. So why then, when we begin to sense what God wants of us, we run away and hide?

Are you open to what God wants of you? Are you willing to do whatever He asks? Often times we wait for Him to ask, then think about His request, and then become filled with fear over that request. But the key to fulfilling the Will of God is to say “Yes” to Him even before He asks anything of us. Surrendering to God, in a perpetual state of obedience, will free us from the fear we can be tempted with when overanalyzing the details of His glorious Will.

So many paths I’ve walked in God’s Divine Will in which when I’ve hit some ‘big event’. I’ve had to ask God, ‘how did I get here?’ Living with a heart of ‘yes’ to whatever God asks, before He asks, gives us the opportunity to do things we would never do if we think about it first.

One of the biggest surprises for me when surrendering in this yes involved Emmaus. I only asked God to let me serve in this incredible ministry. I didn’t ask for anything but to be a servant. Before long, I was asked to lead a retreat team – “yes, Lord.” Then, I was asked to help with the retreat logistics, “yes, Lord.” God kept leading me to places of service within the ministry. Before long, I remember sitting outside the church after a long discussion with our priest. I was looking up at the sunny, blue sky asking God, “how did this happen? I didn’t ask or want this.” I had just been appointed as ministry head by the priest.

Two years later, I stepped out of the boat again – without looking. God led me to start this ministry in my home parish. A terrifying thought to start a new retreat ministry with limited resources. But, that “yes, Lord” opened a path for hundreds of men and women to find God through this ministry.

I still marvel as I look back to what God did with my simple “yes, Lord.” I know if I had looked around or even once thought about what God was asking of me, I would have probably ran away scared and intimidated. But, my open-ended “yes, Lord” let God do the work while I was just a vessel of His Will.

Everything we do for God leads other souls to the Father. Some of the things He asks are going to seem beyond us or even impossible. Say yes before God asks, put the stress on God to get it done, just trust that He will.

This isn’t hard, though it might be difficult at times.

Just wake up each morning and say to God, “today everything I do, think and say is for You. Lead me where You lead me, Lord.” No reservations, just go and let the current of God’s Divine Will guide and carry you through. Don’t look around, you might see what He is doing and become afraid. Just go and do.

You might find yourself doing a lot of things you never thought yourself capable of doing.

“Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” Matthew 19:26