This is not a hollow echo from the Lord’s Prayer. It is one of the most demanding petitions we can ever utter. The first rung on Benedict’s ladder of humility is the recognition that God is God—and we are not. The second asks us to begin living as though we truly believe it.
Joan Chittister writes, “We must reach out for God before we can even begin to live the God life. We must understand that we are not our own destinies.” That realization changes everything. If God is God, then the fullness of life lies not simply in getting what we desire, but in learning to desire what God desires.
And there lies the one of the many great mysteries:
How do we know the will of God?
When we are called to resist the tide, confront injustice, and struggle against what is before us? When we are called to accept what cannot be changed, embrace the pain, and walk faithfully through the darkness?
Surrender is not passivity. It is discernment.
Perhaps there is wisdom in the thought that God’s will is sometimes what remains after we have prayed, struggled, acted, hoped, and prayed again—and still the circumstance stands before us. Then the question may no longer be, How can I escape this? but, How shall I meet God within it? Each of us must discover that doorway for ourselves.
Teach me, Lord, to distinguish Your will from my own;
to struggle when You call me to struggle,
to surrender when You call me to surrender,
and in both, to trust You completely.
Thy will be done. Amen.
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