I struggle with understanding and trusting in God’s plan, especially amid suffering. Do you have any advice?
I’m sure that this is a question that all of us have asked in some form at moments throughout our lives. It can seem easier to recall the joyful moments of Scripture and forget about all of the difficult trials and sufferings that people faced, including our Lord in His Passion.
Growing up, I remember hearing people say, “Our faith is a mystery,” as an explanation when difficulties arose, and I honestly felt that this answer was a cop-out that failed to provide much solace. We can approach the question in many different ways, but I invite us to take a look at it from a more light-hearted direction; maybe you have heard the saying, “If you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans.”
God’s way of thinking is much different than ours. We profess God’s omniscience, meaning that He is all-knowing of things past, present, and future; God’s omnipresence, He is present everywhere and transcends both time and space; God’s omnipotence, He is all-powerful and nothing is beyond His ability to accomplish; and God’s omnibenevolence, His nature is perfect goodness and all-loving.
Both statements, “our faith is a mystery” and “if you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans,” relate to the fact that God is without limits, unlike us and our understanding. How often do we fall into the trap of imagining that God reacts, or should react, the same way that we would? No matter how high a pedestal we may be tempted to place ourselves upon at times, I don’t think anyone would claim that they are all-knowing, all-present, all-powerful and all-loving. We are all afflicted by concupiscence, an inclination to sin as a result of the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve. Could it be possible that God, who is all of those things that we profess, has a better handle on any given situation than we feel we might have? The idea of offering advice to God on what He should do, or what He should have done, begins to sound a little puerile with all this in mind.
If we find ourselves in the midst of hardship or suffering in our lives, it’s imperative that we open our hearts to God in those moments. Understandably, one would be tempted to do the exact opposite and recoil from God, thinking that we know how God should act or have reacted to a situation, but let’s instead pray for the grace to run to the Father, not away from Him. Yes, it’s mysterious when difficulties arise and we want nothing more than to find a clear answer or explanation, but let’s acknowledge and remove the false limits that we place on God’s love, and trust that the all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful and all-present heart of the Father is with us in our distress. Every situation is ultimately in His hands, and we pray that we may abandon our ever-fleeting grasp for control and entrust ourselves to His loving embrace.
