Abandonment: Giving up your will doesn't make you crazy

beatitudeswyd
Jun 7, 2015
3 min read

For some, going to Europe for a month for less than $4000 is a no-brainer. Culture, faith, people, food, adventure...of course! Sign me up!

And then there is the voice in the back of your head (probably sounds like your mom or your super adult-y and responsible friend) saying, "Jobbbb...internship...money...stay home...be safe...don't leave [insert home, loved one, responsibility here]."

This voice isn't necessarily evil; in fact, it has a lot of good ideas. You should think about your future and how you're going to get to the place where you're ultimately meant to be (like your vocation with a small v or your Vocation with a big V). But the Bible also teaches us to "not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear" (Matthew 6:25). I don't think this verse is meant to keep us from planning what we do with our time or making big decisions about what we're doing with our lives. Instead, it's about complete abandon to the will of God. We can make plans, have the next year (or two or three) lined up perfectly, and do everything in our power to ensure it happens smoothly...and the Lord will still surprise us. Our plans may be ruined, but that only means He has better ones.

Your time is precious. Your money is precious (and probably in very short supply). But amazing things happen when you give them both totally to God; there is no question that Jesus holds abandonment to Him in the highest esteem (think of the widow at the temple or Jesus' advice to the rich young man). To wake up in a foreign country, surrounded by mostly strangers, your livelihood supplied only by the donations of friends and family back home, and pray, "Lord, I have no idea what will happen today; I ask for nothing but the bearest necessities and an openness to the promptings of your Holy Spirit"...that is freedom. That is trust. That is faith.

As you make the next steps to come to World Youth Day, this prayer applies just as well. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in decisions about how to spend your time and money. Not everyone is meant to be on this trip, but it is certainly not a waste for those who are. St. John Paul II loved to remind young people, "Be not afraid". Be not afraid of deviating from the normal career-oriented path expected of a college-student-soon-to-be-employee. Be not afraid of asking people for money if you need to fundraise. Be not afraid of missing something back home. Be not afraid of relinquishing your will for the peace and unity of the group you travel with. Be not afraid of His plan being different from yours.

Abandonment is not a rash fatalism or a passive lack of will. It is the embrace of another will - the Lord's divine will - as your own that allows the deepest peace to enter your heart, knowing that when you abandon yourself, the Lord adopts you.

Take a leap of faith. Let Him surprise you.