DESIGNING MY PROFESSIONAL FUTURE WITH JESUS

An article by Ron Sunny as published in Kairos Global -Pilot edition in January 2018 with minor edits Source: http://eng.kairos.global/?p=542

“So, what next?”

Every single student comes across a point in life when that question is thrown at you. If u haven’t yet faced it then - COMING SOON. If you have, well, then join the club. Billions have the same question about their professional future that they are yet to answer.

Should I actually think about what I professionally want to be? Or is it fate or something that God has already fixed and I cannot change? Is it something that will just fall upon me when the time comes? Something that I am supposed to just accept as ‘His will’? If so then why is it that this so called ‘His will’ not ‘perfect’ for everyone? Why do we still see people sick and tired of their jobs and their lives??

I was fascinated when I was told about being able to sit down and design my future with God. As I began with the process I had many questions that popped up in my mind. God very generously poured out his wisdom through many consultations with priests and elders, through the Word of God and through personal prayer. I found convincing answers to many of them, got lots of practical tips and things are working out already!! It is this joy that I would like to share as much as I can from what I learnt in this initial phase. I would like to add here that for the most part I have tried to follow the following tips strictly and have realised that as long as your attempts are sincere and consistent, you will make progress.

HOW I STARTED THIS PROCESS

With Jesus!!! I think the best and simplest way to begin with and grow in relationship with Jesus is by practising 3 constants daily- namely Personal prayer, Holy Mass and Reflection of the Word of God.

· Personal prayer is the time I spend exclusively to talk to Jesus and to listen to him. I realised that there is no substitute to sitting down away from any sort of distractions to spend quality time with him. I had most of my discussions with Jesus during this time.

· During the Holy Mass I was flooded with grace – a key factor that helped me sustain.

· Reading the Bible till I came across a verse that touched me, then pausing and reflecting over that verse for a personal message was a very useful exercise. God very often spoke to me through these verses. I got a lot of guidance, corrections and insights in this process. During my period of discernment I had started with the Gospel of Luke. Marking the verse for future reference continues to help me.

One beautiful verse that reminded me that the discernment process, was in fact a dialogue was 1 John 4:19

‘We love because he first loved us.’

That my effort to converse with God to figure this out, was a natural response of my soul to his love. This is a chat that he started and is interested in! All I needed to do was to be genuine and completely open during these chats with Jesus, as I knew that he knew me, way more than I knew myself. This fact, took a huge load off of me, and made the process a thrilling experience.

HOW I PROCEEDED WITH THE DESIGNING?

I short-listed professions that I had in mind (and hence the courses I was considering picking up) based on the following questions:

· Do I have an interest in it?

· Do I have the aptitude to do it?

· How do I serve the society through this profession? How will it help me contribute to building the Kingdom of God?

· How will this profession help me improve my relationship with Jesus?

Using a book to write down all my reflections for the entire process was extremely useful.

Having a practical ‘Things-to-do’ list after every discussion with Jesus helped in ensuring progress throughout the process.

I discussed my thoughts and ideas with professionals in the areas I was interested in. This gave me a lot of clarity.

I evaluated all such discussions with Jesus during my personal prayers.

HOW DID I KNOW I WAS ON THE RIGHT TRACK?

I simply asked myself ‘Am I getting closer to Jesus or moving away from him?’. Secondly, ‘Judge the tree by its fruits’. God will reveal positive signs (joy, peace) and results as a ‘Well done- Carry on!’ signal. (Matt 11:19)

POSSIBLE TRICKS OF THE DEVIL / FACTORS THAT SLOWED ME DOWN

· Increased frequency of temptations

· Increased time gap between my fall into sin and confession.

· Laziness (Big time!!!)

· My worry about the future

SOLUTION- Get back to the constants + CONFESS ASAP!!!

..My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak… (2 Cor 12:9)

A COUPLE OF THINGS I LEARNT ON WAY

· Take sufficient time to make decisions –be slow but steady.

· The more you discuss, the clearer it gets.

· The Holy Spirit is the most creative person ever. He will take you through new experiences, to new people, to new heights. So don’t limit yourself- ENJOY!!!!

· Universities, institutes, guides, professionals are all just a medium that God will use to lift you to the standards of the Kingdom of God. So don’t ever think that the best institutes are too good for you. Compared to God they a nothing. Moreover the Creator of all things is your best friend!

· I f you don’t take control of your life, people who love you will take control of it – so take control of your decisions.

· RELAX! God is In-charge!

Imagine having a job where you do things you enjoy and being financially settled in life at the same time. This in addition to being blessed with Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self control.

Now stop imagining and start realizing! All the above will make sense only if you give it a shot.

You’ll need a book, a pen and lots and lots of grace.

Get started! Stay blessed!!

DO NOT CONFIRM YOURSELVES TO THE STANDARDS OF THIS WORLD, BUT LET GOD TRANSFORM YOU INWARDLY BY A COMPLETE CHANGE OF YOUR MIND. THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO KNOW THE WILL OF GOD; WHAT IS GOOD AND PLEASING TO HIM AND IS PERFECT. (Romans 12:2)

Acknowledgment: I am deeply indebted to my spiritual elders who told me that discernment of my professional career was a possibility. They gave me all the guidance and support I needed. Big thanks to Ralph Martin for his book ‘The fulfillment of all desires’- an extremely useful and practical guide to the spiritual journey.

Addendum: Motivation

I guess what is most important here is to realize the fact that it is a personal intimate relationship with Jesus that brings Real and Everlasting Joy. If you simply look around, you will notice that even the most ideal job with a big fat salary does not actually keep people happy forever. In fact as St. Augustine rightly put it,

‘Our hearts are restless until it rests in you, oh Lord!!’.

Through this beautiful dialogue with Jesus, our dear Lord invites us to team up with him to literally design our future- even professionally! And what an amazing experience it is!!!

God our Father knowing all our needs, desires, ambitions, short comings, financial limitations, strengths and weaknesses will lovingly place a pen our hand and sit with us throughout the entire process to together design our profession – all we need to do is cooperate.

It’s a slow process filled with many silly mistakes that we as weak humans are sure to commit. But as long as we remain united to him, he will remain united to us (John 15:4). Like a very patient and merciful father, God will guide us and lift us up- step by step. You will notice that he will do all the work through his grace but allow us to take all the credit. It’s an amazing process where you will see yourself evolving into someone less of you and more of him. Slowly, God will have complete control over your entire life and you will feel safe, loved and confident.

So that it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. (Gal 2:20)

Even in this world you will bear fruits of the Holy Spirit and just like Jesus, you will grow to be pleasing to both man (your family!) and God! (Luke 2:52).

“Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? . . . No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.”

― Pope Benedict XVI