I’m sure that every Goodnews reader hopes one day to hear the Lord speak the words “Well done, good and faithful servant…… Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21). Then we’ll know that we’ve done what he wanted us to do. If this is to happen, I need to discover God’s particular will and purposes for my life - but how? This is one of the questions I am most frequently asked, and it’s an important one. We mostly understand and accept God’s general will – that we should know Him, love Him, and serve Him – but how and where are we to do that, each in our own particular circumstances?

It’s good to be even asking the question, because sadly there are a lot of Christians who hardly ever give it a thought. For them, a visit to a church service from time to time and an occasional prayer is all that’s required. A few years ago I spoke to the school leavers at a well-known Catholic school, and asked them what they planned to do, now that their school days were coming to an end. They were full of answers, but when I asked what God thought about all their plans there was an amazed silence. At last one brave young man spoke up. “What’s it got to do with Him?” he asked. It transpired that only a handful of them had even realised that God might have specific plans for their lives. The short answer to that young man’s question is “everything”, so we really need to think carefully about what God is asking of us.

Not just for God, but with Him

Following a God-given vision for our lives will lift us from the ordinary to the significant, to the extra-ordinary. It will enable us to do great things with God. Not just for God, but with him - there’s a big difference. No really significant life can be lived, or a significant work done for God unless it’s grounded in the reality of a spiritual vision. A specific calling and a vision from God changed the lives of Abraham, Moses, Nehemiah, David, Isaiah, Paul, St. Francis, Mother Teresa, Chiara Lubich...and it will change your life and mine. All of these heroes of our faith had encounters with God that took hold of them and transformed their lives. The poorest person in the world is not the one without money, but someone with no vision, no sense of purpose or direction. Vision means seeing tomorrow so powerfully and clearly that it shapes today, giving us direction and purpose now. I’ve heard it said that God wants to give us a vision that we will grow into - rather like buying clothes a size too big, knowing that in due course they will fit our children perfectly.

A Personal and Corporate Vision

A spiritual vision comes on two levels – the personal, which affects my life, and the corporate, which affects other people. The two overlap, the personal fits into the corporate. If we don’t realise this it will limit the work of God in us to a small personal conversion experience, rather than allowing us to become channels through which his divine, life-changing power can flow out to others. A vision may be birthed in one person but it usually requires a group, team, or community to fulfil it - it’s bigger than any individual. Everyone needs to find his place and ministry within the vision, living in proper relationship with the Lord and each other, because our service and vision are not just based on the wishes of other people but on God’s calling. Many parishes have a lot of activities – very few have a God-given vision in which everyone has their part to play. “But I’m not qualified!” we cry. Many of us need to stop putting ourselves down, to stop saying that others are better qualified and more deserving. We may be flawed and limited, but the God who works in us and through us is not, so we must never let fear make us settle for less than God wants of us. We work for an audience of one.

Regardless of age or circumstances, God’s Spirit can still birth in our hearts a dream, a vision of what can be. “Your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” says the prophet Joel (2:28-32). God knows me better than I know myself, so I need to ask myself some questions: Where am I spiritually? What are my priorities? How far am I willing to go with God? What am I good at? What have others encouraged in me? What do I enjoy doing? What price am I willing to pay? The answers will help me as I move forward with God.

Circumstances and Gifts

The first thing to recognise is that God is fully aware of my particular circumstances - if I am married with a family, he will have noticed! This is a primary responsibility, and it will affect the way I live and the things I am free to do. If, however, I am single and have no dependents, my situation is quite different and the Lord knows I will be able to undertake other tasks. When he calls us to serve him, he will always use us in ways that take into account the responsibilities we already carry. Then we should carefully consider which gifts God has given us. It has always been very clear to me that when God gives me a gift, he clearly wants me to use it. This applies to what we might see as natural talents, which are given by God, as well as to spiritual gifts – a word of wisdom or knowledge, prophecy, healing (1Corinthians 12). Or perhaps hospitality (Romans 12:13), evangelism, pastoral care (Ephesians 4:11), serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading etc. (Romans 12:7-8). We should all know our gifts - if we are unsure we need to ask those who know us well, appreciate us, and will tell us the truth. Why? Because others soon recognise our gifts and abilities, and we will find that we are often asked to do certain things. This is because people know we will do them well – they have seen our gifting. On the other hand, there may be some things we would really like to do, but for which we are not gifted. This is why it’s important that people tell us the truth.

In these first two points we have a foundation for discovering God’s will for us – our personal circumstances, which will affect our availability, and our areas of gifting, which will affect our fruitfulness. Now I want to look at some essential things which help to build up the picture.

Prayer, Scriptures, Sacraments

First of these is our personal relationship with the Lord, and second the ways we find to feed ourselves spiritually. So let’s look first at prayer - the life-blood of our relationship with God. No relationship will survive and grow unless we invest quality time in it, and this is as true of our relationship with God as it is of any other relationship. We need to be committed to a regular daily prayer time, when we not only speak to God, but even more importantly - listen to him. Most of us need to start small, and build up both the time and the quality of our prayer lives. Then we will begin to learn how to recognise his voice.

In addition to our prayer, we also need to look at the ways we receive spiritual food – we can’t live on a starvation diet. We will come to know God’s voice and his ways of working as we read his Word – the Scriptures. It’s in the Scriptures that God our loving Father comes to meet us. We meet him above all in the person of his Son Jesus, the incarnate Word, revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. We need to remember what the Church told us at the Second Vatican Council (Dei Verbum) - that we are fed from the one table of the Word of God and the Bread of Life. In other words, from the Scriptures and the Body and Blood of our Lord. So we are encouraged to receive the Sacraments frequently, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation, which together with daily reading of the Bible will bring us closer to the Lord and to knowing His particular will for us. As the picture builds up, we will begin to hear what He is saying to us, and to see how and where He is using us. Those of us who have a spiritual guide, a prayer partner, or a mentor, should be checking things out with them as we move forward, listening to their advice too. The discernment of others who are honest and will tell us the truth is essential, as are the views of those with a God-given authority over us.

Oh, Lord! Where are You?

But what about those times when God seems far away, and we cry out “Oh, Lord! Where are you?” The problem is that we are then thinking in a human way. We think of God dwelling in time and space, which he does not do. There is never really any question about where God is because he is everywhere, so his answer is “I am with you!” He only seems remote because we separate ourselves from him through the things we think, say and do, but he is still with us. The psalmist asks: “Where shall I go to escape your presence?” (Psalm 139:7-8), and the answer is clear – there is nowhere we can hide from God, He is both near and far away. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being, and this is a source of deep comfort and assurance in times of difficulty and sorrow.

The practice of the presence of God consists in recognising that He is here - irrespective of my awareness of Him. But it would not be realistic to expect that this will cause us to be in a constant state of joy and happiness - we experience suffering even in the constant presence of God. Like Paul, we are “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing….having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Cor.6:10), and we too must have the confidence that all will be well. The certainty that we are never alone speaks peace into our hearts as we try to do his will in times of difficulty.

A Way through the Wilderness

I have learned that God is more interested in our character than in our service, so we will all spend time in the wilderness where he will purify and form us. When we are what he wants us to be, he can use us, because then we will hear his voice no matter what is going on in us and around us. Beware of the emptiness of a busy life - the good is often the enemy of the best, so let’s try to only do the best things, which are always God’s things. Then we will have a sense of calling and purpose, and a clear direction for our journey. We will know what our priorities are – when to say yes and when to say no. Life will be humbling, motivating, satisfying, and fruitful, as we do God’s things in His time and in His way, using His gifts and His power. As Jamie Buckingham writes in “A Way Through the Wilderness” (Kingsway Publications):-

“To all those wandering in the wilderness, let it be said: bushes still catch on fire, and God calls men by their names. But the call comes only to those who are busy with the smaller tasks already assigned.”

Whether the tasks are great or small, I long to hear those words “Well done, good and faithful servant…..” for then I will know for certain that I did what my Lord wanted me to do.

© Charles Whitehead

Charles Whitehead, former ICCRS president, is a life member of the English NSC. He is an international speaker and writer. He is married to Sue and has four children.