Discerning God's Will: One Step at a Time

There are days when it seems impossible to move out of feelings of being bewildered, overwhelmed, lost without even an inkling of where to begin, what to do, or what God wills for me that day!
In fact, sometimes we may think that God does not even care. In the first place, we might wonder, where was God when I got into this mess: I lost my best friend, my girlfriend/boyfriend dropped me like a hot potato, I failed that test and lost the possibility of any scholarship whatsoever; a parent died or my parents got divorced and there went any possibility of a college education (child support did not happen).  "Where God are you? Your will? My welfare? My happiness? It does not look like it, Lord," we might be saying.

Behavioral scientists suggest that, when we  feel lost, overcome by life's curve balls, not knowing which foot to put ahead of the other, not even what direction to take, that we choose one small task that we know is workable, doable, possible.  Completing that itsy, bitsy task gives us the energy to take another step, no matter how small,  in the direction toward which we want to go.  Each small step brings a sense of accomplishment, a little bit of happiness and satisfaction and prepares us to take the next step.  Like a child learning to walk, pretty soon we are running toward a desired goal, toward a sense of peace and a little bit of happiness. That is God's will for us.  Not easy but doable in small increments!

Source: O’Brien, Margaret, OSU, Discovering Your Light: Common Journeys of Young Adults, Resurrection Press, Mineola, NY, 1991, pp. 216-17