Discernment in a Messy Situation

Monica Portogallo considers the difficulty of knowing the will of God in complicated circumstances.

We live in a fallen, messy world. If we didn’t, knowing and doing God’s will would be clear, straightforward, and easy. As it stands in our world, it can be hard to discern what God’s will is in a given situation. Some virtues or actions we would expect God to want may not be in line with God’s will in some of the complicated situations in our lives.

We know God loves generosity; it is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Still, God’s will may be for me not to be financially generous to my brother with a gambling problem when he asks me for money. I may discern through prayer that the spirit of generosity would mean helping my brother in some other way, and being financially generous to a reputable charity instead.

We know God wants us to serve those in need; it is a requirement for entry into God’s kingdom in Matthew 25. Nevertheless, we may determine with God’s guidance that any particular act of service may not be the best use of our gifts. If I am terrible at home repair, my building houses for the homeless might actually hinder the efforts of capable people who have to redo my well-meaning botched efforts. God’s will at any particular moment may also be for me to go away by myself to pray and rest a while, as Jesus often did in the Gospels.

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We must turn to God in the messy situations. #catholicmom

God clearly tells us in Scripture that He hates divorce and man must not separate what God has joined. In spite of this, when I pray about God’s will in my life, He may make it clear to me that separating from my abusive spouse is His will for me. His desire that one of the little ones should not be led astray might be the order of the day, rather than staying and letting my children and myself suffer due to my spouse’s obstinate wrongdoing.

The key is we must turn to God in the messy situations. We need to pray that God makes His will clear for us, that He opens our hearts to accepting it, and that He gives us whatever we need to do His will.

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