How to Make Your Plan Fit Into God's Plan - Part 2
Last time we hashed through why it's so important to fit our plan, including our plan at work, into God's plan. We also discussed why simply declaring our intention to do so works so well, even if we're not too sure of the details of how our plan works with God's:
A simple example: I just conducted a meeting with a prospective client. Understanding this individual's wants and needs was critical to evaluating whether our firm could provide useful services. Despite the day having been a difficult one for various reasons up to that point, and despite my feeling a bit fatigued and impatient, my full attention was focused on this person: his words, but also his facial expression, his body language, in short, anything that could deepen my understanding. I asked questions based not on idle curiosity, but on eliciting responses that would provide information for us to assess whether our services might match his wants and needs. Using all my experience and skill in these matters, I asked my questions in a matter that did not press or grill him, but rather allowed this person to feel relaxed and able to answer in a thoughtful manner, keeping my mouth shut when he spoke, taking appropriate notes, etc. This skill of both asking questions and listening comes with long hours, years really, of practice.
The point here isn't to toot my own horn. It's simply to illustrate that my effort was based my being determined to be diligent in this appointed service (a phrase from the prayer "A Morning Resolve ). Having completed the interview meeting, I turn the results over to God. Not that I don't follow up at this point. In fact, there are a number of specific tasks that need to be completed after a meeting like that. I'll attend to those tasks. If we have additional interaction with this person, I don't' focus on getting the results I want. I pray that God's will be done. If it is part of His Plan that our firm develops a business relationship with this fellow, I'm certain that will happen - according to God's will.
Do I always proceed this way. Frankly, no. I frequently focus on myself rather than God's will. My intention to do His will will sometimes be overwhelmed by some personal or business need. For example, the desire to build revenue will muddy the purity of my intention to do God's Will. I'll spend more energy asking Him to do what I want, sometimes exclusive of any recognition that His Will takes priority. In other words, I'm self-centered. My fallen human nature gets the better of me.
But none of this alters what I should be thinking and doing. None of this changes or affects in even the slightest way the reality that not only is God's Will most important, but, putting it simply, that's what's going to happen no matter what I feel, think, say, or do.
Well, it's just about time to get ready for work. We'll have to continue our discussion of fitting our plans into God's plan next time...
(We said)...God not only created the world, which includes you, but also that He sustains the world every moment and that everything that happens every moment of every day follows God's plan. Obviously, that would include everything you do at work. It doesn't matter that you may not consciously connect your thoughts, words, and actions at work to God's plan.We then asked:
Do you have to know His plan - i.e., understand Divine Providence - and in some fashion match your thoughts, words, and deeds so that they somehow "fit in" to Divine Providence?The answer flows from the fact that we don't, actually can't, know His plan. With that in mind, I thought we'd dig a little deeper today by calling on Fr. H. Ramiere, S.J. He's got a bit more expertise to help us understand this in more detail. He'll help us drill down a bit.
“First principle. Nothing is done, nothing happens, either in the material or in the moral world, which God has not foreseen from all eternity, and which He has not willed, or at least permitted. Second Principle: God can will nothing, He can permit nothing, but in view of the end He proposed to Himself in creating the world; i.e., in view of His glory and the glory of the Man-God, Jesus Christ, His only Son. To these two principles…we shall add a third, which will complete the elucidation of this whole subject: As long as man lives upon earth, God desires to be glorified through the happiness of this privileged creature; and consequently in God’s designs the interests of man’s sanctification and happiness is inseparable from the interest of the divine glory."Father theologically elucidates what we've been trying to say here. We need to just accept that all our efforts during the day, no matter what we think, say, or do, will in the end conform to God's plan. But this doesn't mean we sit back and just let things go "on their own" because God's in charge. It means that we, informed by our intellect, perform the duties of our state of life in the best way we can.
A simple example: I just conducted a meeting with a prospective client. Understanding this individual's wants and needs was critical to evaluating whether our firm could provide useful services. Despite the day having been a difficult one for various reasons up to that point, and despite my feeling a bit fatigued and impatient, my full attention was focused on this person: his words, but also his facial expression, his body language, in short, anything that could deepen my understanding. I asked questions based not on idle curiosity, but on eliciting responses that would provide information for us to assess whether our services might match his wants and needs. Using all my experience and skill in these matters, I asked my questions in a matter that did not press or grill him, but rather allowed this person to feel relaxed and able to answer in a thoughtful manner, keeping my mouth shut when he spoke, taking appropriate notes, etc. This skill of both asking questions and listening comes with long hours, years really, of practice.
The point here isn't to toot my own horn. It's simply to illustrate that my effort was based my being determined to be diligent in this appointed service (a phrase from the prayer "A Morning Resolve ). Having completed the interview meeting, I turn the results over to God. Not that I don't follow up at this point. In fact, there are a number of specific tasks that need to be completed after a meeting like that. I'll attend to those tasks. If we have additional interaction with this person, I don't' focus on getting the results I want. I pray that God's will be done. If it is part of His Plan that our firm develops a business relationship with this fellow, I'm certain that will happen - according to God's will.
Do I always proceed this way. Frankly, no. I frequently focus on myself rather than God's will. My intention to do His will will sometimes be overwhelmed by some personal or business need. For example, the desire to build revenue will muddy the purity of my intention to do God's Will. I'll spend more energy asking Him to do what I want, sometimes exclusive of any recognition that His Will takes priority. In other words, I'm self-centered. My fallen human nature gets the better of me.
But none of this alters what I should be thinking and doing. None of this changes or affects in even the slightest way the reality that not only is God's Will most important, but, putting it simply, that's what's going to happen no matter what I feel, think, say, or do.
Well, it's just about time to get ready for work. We'll have to continue our discussion of fitting our plans into God's plan next time...
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