Stay on the S.H.I.P.
What is God’s will for my life? How do I discover it? How do I open myself up to hearing God tell me what it is?
There are two very important things to remember about God and His will. First, if by His will you mean what He desires for you to do, you already know that.
His will is that you know Him, love Him, and serve Him. You know Him through prayer, listening, and study. You love Him by trying with all your might to follow His commandments, and repenting in confession when you fail to do so. You serve Him by going to Mass and by selflessly and generously serving those whom He has put in your life: siblings, children, co-workers, enemies, etc.
If you are doing these things, you are accomplishing God’s will.
Second, if by His will, you mean His future plans for your life, He will not tell you this. Why? Because God is not a fortuneteller. He is God. He doesn’t tell you the future, He walks with you in the present.
What we are often seeking when we ask these above questions is more along the lines of “What is my purpose in life? What is the meaning of my life? Who am I and what am I supposed to do?”
The good news is that we have also received the answers to these questions.
You are good, created in the image and likeness of God, and your task is to use this life to grow as much as you can in your likeness to Him through prayer and good works.
Ephesians tells us, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (2:10).
Whatever work or service you are doing, if it is in balance with a life of knowing, loving, and serving the Lord, you can trust that God is working through it.
For men discerning for the priesthood, the seminary system offers four pillars to help one maintain this exact balance. These pillars are to be assessed during one’s time in seminary to help one prepare for priesthood. However, they are also extremely helpful for sustaining oneself in a balanced relationship with God. They can be thought of with the acronym, S.H.I.P.
Spiritual: Do I pray, spend time with God, read spiritual books, and attend Mass? If not, my spiritual pillar is out of balance, and my soul will begin to lose touch with God. Those deeper questions will start to arise, more often only to be met with a frustrated search in the wrong direction.
The answer to the purpose of your life is not a secret God has hiding from you that He is waiting to reveal.
The answer is God, spend time with him.
Human: Do I eat healthily? Do I sleep enough? Do I exercise? Do I spend time with friends? Do I spend quality time with my family? Do I have a job where I work hard and sacrifice?
All of these are necessary for maintaining balance. If something seems constantly wrong in your life, and you don’t know what it is, maybe try looking at the human pillar for direction.
Intellectual: We have minds. Our minds are made to grow. What we take into them shapes how we interact with reality. It shapes whether or not we can engage reality with gratitude, be joyful, think more deeply, maintain curiosity and interest in others and the world.
If we only put Netflix into our minds, our reality will be shaped by what we are watching. If we read good books, read and study the bible, or even try to watch good movies, our minds will be much healthier than the alternative.
Pastoral: Do I have any concrete outlet for charity in my life? Am I serving anyone? Some of you may be serving lots of people. If so, try to do it with greater patience and generosity.
Stay on the S.H.I.P. Many of life’s deeper questions and longings are met and wrestled with best by simply trying to maintain balance with these four pillars. They do not cure suffering or fix all of our problems. But they do provide the growth necessary to have the greater virtues to face what life has in store and what God has planned.