Content With His Will

I had naively thought that when I decide to do God's will instead of my own, I would be at peace and find contentment. But, there have been times when I was not at peace. There is more to doing God's will than behaving according to His will. In the midst of a moral dilemma, when deciding what to do, although asking for God's advice will open one's ears to listening, if one's heart is more inclined to want something personal instead of loving the Advisor, then there will be no contentment and no peace. Even when I believed I was following His will and behaving accordingly, I might still not be content with the outcome. Dante had a vision of Heaven about which he wrote in "Paradisio" that shed some light on my problem. He asks a woman in Heaven if she seeks to be in a loftier zone in Heaven as if she wants something greater. It was believed there are different levels of Heaven and some are loftier than others. After all, there is such a thing as more happiness, more joy, etc., so it would seem, even in Heaven, happiness and joy may have different degrees of intensity based upon our perception and desires. Dante writes the woman's answer to his questions in "Paradisio", Canto 3, pages 70-75. She says: "The virtue of love hath pacified Our will; we long for what we have alone, Nor any craving stirs in us beside. If we desired to reach a loftier zone, Our longings would be all out of accord With His will who disposeth here His own." She is content with His will because of her love for Him. After I read this answer to Dante's question, I realized love for God will supply contentment when doing His will. Nothing is personally desired in return when love is the motive. God loved first. He gave and continues to give all that is good. Love to Him in return fulfills the relationship and doing His will has its own joy within itself.