Hi, my name's Father Mike Schmitz and this is Ascension Presents.
So when it comes to making decisions, I think a lot of times, we have a lot of anxiety,
many people have a lot of anxiety when it comes to having to decide,
especially the big choices, the big decisions
and so a lot of times, what we end up doing is saying,
"Well God, you tell me what to do."
Now that's not a bad thing. That's a really good thing
because it's saying actually I want your will, God more than I want my will, God.
So you just tell me what to do
when it comes to where should I go to college,
when it comes to who should I marry
or should I go to the seminary or the convent
or all these kinds of things. God, you just tell me and I'll do it.
That's not a bad thing—it's a really good thing to say what I want to do God, is your will.
That's why we pray, "Thy will be done." It's kind of core to being a saint.
The saint is the person who says, "God, thy will be done,"
and the one in hell is the one to whom God says, "Your will be done."
That's from C.S. Lewis—I paraphrased that.
I remember reading a book—in a book. I read a book once
and it said that—the author wrote and he said when it comes to
trying to figure out God's will in our lives,
a lot of times we don't necessarily want to do God's will
as much as we want the relief from the responsibility of having to make a decision for ourselves,
because a lot of times, what God is counting on us to do is making the decision ourselves.
Unless God has actually stepped out and said, "This is what I want you to do,"
it seems like a lot of ways he says, "OK, just choose."
God has given us so much freedom. He's blessed us with so much.
He's given us wisdom and intellect.
He's given us a will and he wants us to use the intellect and he wants us to use the will
when it comes to a big decision.
So how do we do that?
First, if God has revealed something, it's already revealed, right?
So it's like, hey should I cheat on my wife or not? No, he said, Don't do that, so don't do that.
You know what I'm saying? Because that's clear enough.
Or if God has placed a truth like a conviction on your heart
when it comes to like, "Should I go to the seminary?"
but if he hasn't said either clearly don't do this or clearly do this,
you have to ask four questions. I like to look at these as like four doors.
And the first thing is—it's actually the same door, but you're asking four questions about the same door.
The first question is, Is this a good door?
Like this decision I have to make—is this a good door?
Is this something that God has said never go down, never open this door? It's not good.
Or is it a bad door?
So if it's a good door or even a neutral door, then it's a possibility.
If it's a bad door, then the door is off-limits, it's locked. I don't need to go in there.
Actually, that's the second question. Is not only is this a good door, is this an open door?
Is this an actual thing I could do? Is this a possibility or reality for me?
For example, I don't have to discern whether I should try out for the NBA or not,
like that, for me, is a closed door. It's a good fine door, neutral at least,
but I don't have to bang against this door because it is closed to me.
The same kind of thing when it comes to if someone were to say,
I applied to the seminary. I thought this was a good door. It is a good door.
And I applied and they said that I was declined from the seminary.
Like, OK, that means that at least right now, it's a closed door.
I don't have to continue to ask or bang against this door.
So, is it a good door? Is it an open door?
Third question: Is this a wise door?
Now, this is where things get a little more complicated.
You have to start using your brain and that brain has to ask the question:
OK, so knowing where I've been, knowing who I am right now and also knowing who I want to be,
who I believe God is calling me to be, would this be a wise door for me to open?
Would this be a wise door for me to walk through? Would this be a wise decision in my life?
Because you know you, right? You know the kind of person you are.
You also know who you are. You know your struggles, you know your strengths.
You also know the kind of person you want to be.
So knowing all those things,
would this be a wise door for you to walk down, to open up, to enter, to pass through, to decide?
Because, a lot of times, people say, "Well no, I just have to kind of sort of have to choose this."
Not necessarily.
Is this a good door? Is this an open door? Is this a wise door? Would this be good for you to go down?
Think about a relationship.
You might already know enough about this person
to know that it would not be a good idea for you to pursue a relationship with them.
Yeah, maybe it's good. Maybe it's open, like they're interested.
But it wouldn't be wise, right? It wouldn't actually get you to where you want to go.
It wouldn't necessarily help them get to where they want to go.
Is this a wise door?
And the fourth question and this is the one that people hate when I bring up but it's a real question.
Not only is this a good door, is this an open door, is this a wise door, but the big question is
if it is all those things, is this a door that I want?
Because if God has not revealed yet, that he's either said,
"No, don't go through this door," or "Yes, please. Absolutely go through this door,"
you actually get to choose.
Is this the door I actually want to go down or go through?
Is this a decision I want to make?
So, God has given us so much freedom, to use our minds, to use our wills.
I think, I believe a lot of times, he even opens up and says,
"No, any of these choices you can make. I will be there on the other side."
I think this is what it comes down to like, Should I marry this person or that person?
OK well, is this good? Open? Wise? And a door you want?
Is this a person you'd like to marry? But what about that person?
Well, who do you want?
Should I date this person or that person? Well, who do you want?
Should I go to this school or that school? Which one do you want to go to?
Should I major in this or in that?
OK, is all your majors, are they good? Are they open, available to you?
Are they wise, knowing yourself? And which one is the one you want to do?
Because we can't just keep dismissing and putting this off on God.
We have to actually make decisions and take responsibility.
One of the marks of adulthood, as I said in another video,
one of the marks of adulthood is taking responsibility for oneself, for one's decisions.
So, when you have to make a decision,
to go to this college or that, to take this major or that,
to date this person or that, to go to seminary or not,
all these kinds of things, take responsibility.
And even if you make the wrong decision after asking all those questions,
the Lord still will be with you and he always provides a way to get back on track.
From all of us here to Ascension Presents, my name is Father Mike.
God bless.
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because that'd be cool.
It's, you know, thanks.