How to Make Your Plan Fit Into God's Plan - Part 4
We conclude our discussion of making your plan fit into God's plan today. It's the sort of subject we could likely talk about the rest of the year, simply because it's about as fundamental and critical to our lives as Catholics as you can get. For now, we'll just narrow things down and apply what we've learned to our work.
No matter what you do, you're likely spending the majority of your most productive hours each day at work. Consider the fact that most of us rely on our work to support ourselves, our families, as well as provide some surplus to set aside for a modest security in our later years, as well as the means to, from time to time, help others. You can easily see how what we do at work matters in so many ways.
Given the importance of what we do, most of us don't take too kindly when things don't go well. Whether your misfortunes consist of financial reversals, unfriendly colleagues, bad bosses, a mistake you made that screwed up a deal, a mistake someone else made that screwed up your deal, if you've worked for any length of time you likely know that bad luck or, worse, a bad string of luck can really throw you off your stride, undermine your confidence, even get you fired. Then there's always the lay off that has nothing to do with your skills or efforts, simply the result of a business reorganizing or retrenching in some way. Business, like life, can be rough.
On the other hand, I recently met someone whose job, which he's held for decades, induces no stress, pays reasonably well, and is about as secure as any job out there. Things don't always go wrong and a select few of us have managed to lead a charmed life at work.
Either way - bad, good, or all the in-between, when we unite our work to God's Plan, we follow a sure path to eternal happiness in Heaven and even happiness in this life. And we need to keep this front and center in our minds every day. If we've understood Father Ramier's "principles" as outlined in our previous three posts and pursue our daily work in their light, our plan will surely and securely fit into God's plan. Let's let Father sum it all up. It's a lot more dramatic and exciting in his words:
Have you ever read anything more stunning and wonderful? We simply have to do "all that is in our power to accomplish His designs." At work, this simply comes down to meeting our commitments and diligently fulfilling our duties each and every day. Do that, leaving the results in God's Hand, and you will have successfully fit your plan into God's plan.
No matter what you do, you're likely spending the majority of your most productive hours each day at work. Consider the fact that most of us rely on our work to support ourselves, our families, as well as provide some surplus to set aside for a modest security in our later years, as well as the means to, from time to time, help others. You can easily see how what we do at work matters in so many ways.
Given the importance of what we do, most of us don't take too kindly when things don't go well. Whether your misfortunes consist of financial reversals, unfriendly colleagues, bad bosses, a mistake you made that screwed up a deal, a mistake someone else made that screwed up your deal, if you've worked for any length of time you likely know that bad luck or, worse, a bad string of luck can really throw you off your stride, undermine your confidence, even get you fired. Then there's always the lay off that has nothing to do with your skills or efforts, simply the result of a business reorganizing or retrenching in some way. Business, like life, can be rough.
On the other hand, I recently met someone whose job, which he's held for decades, induces no stress, pays reasonably well, and is about as secure as any job out there. Things don't always go wrong and a select few of us have managed to lead a charmed life at work.
Either way - bad, good, or all the in-between, when we unite our work to God's Plan, we follow a sure path to eternal happiness in Heaven and even happiness in this life. And we need to keep this front and center in our minds every day. If we've understood Father Ramier's "principles" as outlined in our previous three posts and pursue our daily work in their light, our plan will surely and securely fit into God's plan. Let's let Father sum it all up. It's a lot more dramatic and exciting in his words:
"If we do not lose sight of these principles, which no Christian can question, we shall understand that our confidence in the Providence of our Father in Heaven cannot be too great, too absolute, too childlike. If nothing but what He permits happens, and if He can permit nothing but what is for our happiness, then we have nothing to fear, except not being sufficiently submissive to God. As long as we keep ourselves united with Him and we walk after His designs, were all creatures to turn against us they could not harm us. He who relies upon God becomes by this very reliance as powerful and as invincible as God, and created powers can no more prevail against him than against God Himself. This confidence in the fatherly providence of God cannot, evidently, dispense us from doing all that is in our power to accomplish His designs; but after having done all that depends upon our efforts we will abandon ourselves completely to God for the rest...This abandonment should extend, in fact, to everything – to the past, to the present, to the future; to the body and all its conditions; to the soul and all its miseries, as well as all its qualities; to blessings; to afflictions; to the good will of men, and to their malice; to the vicissitudes of the material, and the revolutions of the moral, world; to life and to death; to time and to eternity.” (Fr. H. Ramiere, S.J.)Repeat: "He who relies upon God becomes by this very reliance as powerful and as invincible as God, and created powers can no more prevail against him than against God himself."
Have you ever read anything more stunning and wonderful? We simply have to do "all that is in our power to accomplish His designs." At work, this simply comes down to meeting our commitments and diligently fulfilling our duties each and every day. Do that, leaving the results in God's Hand, and you will have successfully fit your plan into God's plan.
Comments