Respect His will

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14: 25-33)

To love God above all things is the most basic commandment for anyone seeking to be faithful to Him. Even for Jesus, during His agony in garden of Gethsemane, keeping this commandment was very hard. For us, even in less dramatic situations, it is impossible to obey God’s Will without the gift of His Grace. Therefore, may we ask God to give us, along with our faith in Him, the strength not to give in to discouragement when we feel exhausted in keeping God’s Will. This means very specifically "taking up our cross and following Him."