Look for the Signs: Discerning God’s Will

A few weeks ago, I received a small sum of money from my mother, who returned it from having borrowed it from me a few months ago. We sat in the coffee shop together discussing my present circumstances. I told her, “I sometimes feel like I’ll never be able to get out of my situation and move. I worry that I’ll never get to see my son or my granddaughter again. I know it’s not true, that this is just my fear talking, but that’s how I feel.”

Letting Fear Lead the Way

I sent a quarter of the money to my son, who faced some financial difficulties, and then I needed to make a choice about what to do with the remainder. I didn’t ask God what He wanted me to do with that money. Instead, I made a spontaneous decision that seemed good at the time:

My husband and I could rent a car, pull some of the things out of storage to help my son furnish his apartment, and go deliver them in person. That way, at least we would get to spend a couple of days with my son and my granddaughter until we could raise the money to make a more permanent move. Especially since raising the $1275 needed for a one-way moving van rental plus the gasoline seemed so far out of our grasp at that moment.

I pitched the idea to my husband, who agreed to it, and we booked everything. But I felt no peace. Instead, a gnawing anxiety that I was making the wrong decision followed me the whole way through the trip. As we prepared to leave, my son confessed that he was days away from being evicted and the landlord wasn’t content to accept partial payments. He had to raise the entire amount due or he was out of a place to live.

Our entire trip could be wasted, and we would have left him with burdens to carry out rather than things that made his life easier, if we didn’t find a way to help him out of his predicament.

Taking the Wrong Turn

Early in the trip back home, we wasted time and gasoline because we missed the signs and took the wrong turn. This is what happens in our lives when we aren’t operating in alignment with God’s assignment for us. We miss the signs and end up wasting time as well as energy on what, ultimately, isn’t going to get us where we want to be.

I recognized my error as soon as I got home. I’ve struggled for years with figuring out how to know when it’s God’s will versus my own. I told God that He and I needed to work out some kind of system of communication whereby I could be sure that what I was doing was the thing He wanted me to do. That way, I would experience His peace instead of gnawing anxiety over things.

Turning to God for Guidance

I wracked my brain for ideas about what kind of sign to look for, but He tapped my shoulder and reminded me of the sign He’d already given those who belong to Him: His perfect peace.

That insight simplified everything, and I realized it’s the key to true discernment. It’s the one thing the Devil cannot imitate or replicate, because in order for you to feel perfect peace you must be first filled with God’s love, hope, and joy. It’s the intersection of love, hope, and joy where perfect peace is found.

That’s why I share this insight with you now: It’s a way to be confident that what you are about to do or what you are thinking about doing is something God wants you to do. It’s the key to discernment of His will.

Receiving Good Counsel in Confession

Yesterday, I went to confession to make amends for putting my will above the Lord’s and letting fear, rather than His love, lead the way. The priest reminded me to trust in God’s love. He’s a good father who will never, ever abandon or abuse or neglect His children.

Everything He does and everything He asks of us is done and asked of us because it’s for our ultimate good and His glory. It is never done or asked of us to harm or hurt us, though it may seem that way in the moment.

So, before you act, speak, or do anything, I encourage you: Look for the signs. Search for perfect peace. Trust in God’s love for you.