God's Hand

Today is the Feast Day of St. Vincent de Paul.  Many people know him for the many efforts he made to help the poor and sick.  He was ever ready to give aid to each person that God sent his way, and in doing so, he had great peace-of-mind knowing he was doing the will of God.

Here is a quote of St. Vincent de Paul that I just came across today in the Magnificat:

"The spirit of the world is restless, and wishes to do everything.  Let us leave it to itself.  Let us have no desire to choose our own paths,  but walk in those which God may be pleased to prescribe for us.  Let us regard ourselves as unworthy that he should make use of us, or that others should think of us, and then all will be well with us.  Let us offer ourselves to him to do and to suffer all things for his glory and the establishment of his Church.  He asks for nothing else.  If he desires results, they rest with him and not with us."

If we unpack what St. Vincent de Paul is saying, he is trying to show us that we need not worry about the many great things that we want to accomplish in our life, but rather, focus simply on the things that God sends to us to do or to endure.  This is God's will.

As Mother Angelica puts it, "Christians must be head and shoulders over the world- we must have faith.  Christians must see what nobody else sees... God's hand in all things." 

Do we choose to "see" with our eyes of faith that everything in our lives is from the hand of God?  Every neighbor we have, every person we meet, every ability we have, every club we participate in, every trial we endure, every responsibility we have- everything is from the hand of God. 

God's hand has placed all these things in your life for His greater glory and the establishment of His Church.  You see, we need not worry about what is God's will, because by you joyfully attending to all the things God has placed in your life, you are doing the will of God. 

St. Mother Teresa would always say "Faithfulness over Success."  God is not concerned about how successful we seem to be at all the tasks He has given us, He just wants us to do the things He has placed in our lives faithfully. 

By living this way, you will have much peace in your life.  There is a simplicity to God's will that the world tries to over complicate and confuse.  We will be the most full of joy just by caring out what is before us, be that a suffering or something as simple as an interruption, with the peace that comes from knowing you are doing the will of God.

That is why so many of the Saints had such a peace and calmness about them, even amidst great trials and sufferings- because they saw God's hand in all things and knew that He was pleased just by being faithful in what they were asked to endure or to do each day.  Living one day and one moment at a time.  This is where we will find God, in each moment- with what God is asking of you in this exact moment.

Take some time today to reflect on where you see the hand of God in your life.  Do you see how every circumstance, relationship or trial could be a mercy from God for His greater glory?