Overwhelmed by Jesus’ Love and His Divine Will

Denise Jelinek discusses the differences between the way we live when we follow our own will rather than the Lord's will.

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by Jesus’ love that you desired only to serve Him? This happened to me one morning, so I decided to write a letter to Our Lord about how much I wanted to do His will. 

I’m sharing that letter with you today and the transformation He’s doing in my soul because it’s one thing to say that you want to do His will, but it’s another thing to see the tangible fruits of it. And those tangible fruits never disappoint, as I’ll show you. 

Jesus,

I am just overwhelmed by your presence in my everyday existence. I have been awake for 30 minutes and already I feel enveloped in your love, support and truth. 

Your presence … 

You are my creator, the one who thought of me, formed me and continues to walk with me, mold me, and guide me. 

You are the one who not only cares about every detail of me, but cares for me, has chosen me, and wants to be FULLY united with me at every single moment, in every single breath, with every beat of my heart. 

You are totally enmeshed, connected to, integrated with, and fully a part of my inadequate human existence (which is only inadequate in my eyes, but is wondrous and precious to you). 

I am often overcome by Elizabeth’s words, “And, how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43). 

At times, but not often enough, I feel the glory and wonder I can only imagine Elizabeth experienced. 

My heart sings, “And how does this happen to me…” and I fill in the blank. 

And how does it happen to me that…You pursued me? Me, who I believe on one hand to be an insignificant creature, but on the other hand to have immense value (only because I am Yours). Being “Yours” inherently presumes I have some unfathomable worth that my human brain cannot comprehend with earthly words. 

I imagine that the closest expression of the awe I feel was expressed by Mary in the Magnificat. 

“The Mighty One has done great things for me” (Luke 1:49). 

Uttering those words in my soul paralyzes me with wonder. When Mary’s words become my words, my soul instantaneously stills and ponders a litany of the “great things” You have done “for me.” 

Although my human brain wants to shout “I’m not worthy!”, the truth is I am not worthy on my human effort alone. I was never created to live on earth alone, on my own strength without You. You created my will to be used only to pursue You and unite my will to Yours. 

Love,
Denise

My Will United to His 

I know uniting my will to the Lord’s will not only be a lifetime pursuit, but it will also require daily effort and moment-by-moment intention. 

One of the ways I have come to know this is by learning about the gift Jesus has given us for this time: the gift of living in the Divine Will. 

When a friend shared the Gift of the Divine Will with me and I didn’t pay attention, Jesus continued to pursue me. Since I started learning about the Gift of the Divine Will, the Lord is—dare I say—showing off (wink, wink) with His might, power, and Jesus-ness. 

How do I know it’s Him? Because the loving thoughts, peace, and joy I have toward others and myself are not my own. 

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Uniting my will to the Lord’s will not only be a lifetime pursuit, but it will also require daily effort and moment-by-moment intention. #CatholicMom

When I am living in my will alone, my M.O. is to:

• Get offended
• Punish others (silent treatment)
• Hold grudges (score-keeping)
• Chase and strive for human accolades
• Overwork
• Overeat
• Live in excess busyness 

When I’m living in the Lord’s will, He is forming me with virtues I had never embraced:

• Tenderness
• Temperance
• Gentleness

I continue to be struck by how He shapes me as I imperfectly unite my human will with His. 

God Bless you and May He give you the eyes to see all the “great things” He is doing for you!

Copyright 2023 Denise Jelinek
Images: Canva