979-8-88911-026-2
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Finding Peace in the Storm<br />
were no doubt a bloody mess as their clothing clung to<br />
their open wounds. They seemed to have no concern<br />
over this unjust treatment but instead rejoiced.<br />
Remember Paul’s admonition from prison regarding<br />
the peace that passes all understanding? Here we<br />
have joy that passes all understanding. It is a joy that<br />
can come only from knowing God’s pleasure and what<br />
it means to follow His will and thereby know Him<br />
in ways that would otherwise be impossible. In this<br />
instance, the disciples shared in the sufferings of Jesus<br />
because they embraced their suffering for His sake and<br />
because they were confident that they were fulfilling<br />
His holy will.<br />
What greater consolation can come to a soul than to<br />
know that by patiently bearing some tribulation, it gives<br />
God the greatest pleasure in its power? Spiritual writers<br />
tell us that though the desire of certain souls to please<br />
God by their sufferings is acceptable to Him, still more<br />
pleasing to Him is the union of certain others with His<br />
will, so that their will is neither to rejoice nor to suffer but<br />
to hold themselves completely amenable to His will, and<br />
they desire only that His holy will be fulfilled. If, devout<br />
soul, it is your will to please God and live a life of serenity<br />
in this world, unite yourself always and in all things to the<br />
divine will. Reflect that all the sins of your past wicked<br />
life happened because you wandered from the path of<br />
God’s will. For the future, embrace God’s good pleasure<br />
and say to Him in every happening: Yes, Father, for so it<br />
54
Change language