Book Excerpt Chapter Six: Trusting God

Trusting "God's Plan"

p. 129 - You Have Chosen to Remember: A Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy by James Blanchard Cisneros.

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Any situation in your life that you regard as a problem can be perceived in two ways, one is through your ego-self and the other is through your Godself. You can let your ego-self take control and allow it to grow this problem into the most chaotic situation imaginable. You can stress and worry, and blame and separate yourself from your brothers and sisters for what you think they did to you. Your ego-self will let this problem or issue grow, even affecting relationships with those around you who had nothing to do with it in the first place. Like a virus, the ego-self will have you infect them, making them a part of the problem, having them take sides, having them separate themselves from their brothers and sisters, and in turn creating an even more chaotic situation. Or, you can choose to trust God. If you work through your Godself, you will understand that this problem has been presented as an opportunity for growth. Forgive yourself, and your brothers and sisters and be grateful for the experience and their participation in it.

The more you choose to judge an individual or situation, the more an individual or situation will consume you. The more you judge a brother, sister or situation, the less joy you will experience in your life. This happens regardless of whether you believe yourself to be "in the right" or not. Judgment consumes joy. Again, in any moment, you have a choice, and it is between judgment and joy. The one you value more, in any situation, is the one you will end up experiencing.

Let's take a personal example and work through it. Several years ago, I began judging a situation that involved my uncle who I had perceived as not using his power to offer me a better position in his company. In my perception, I had all the credentials necessary to reach the next step on the ladder and he could, because of his position, give it to me. This did not happen as I envisioned it would and I became quite upset. As I thought about the situation late one night, I understood that the emotions I was feeling were childish, so I quieted my thoughts, prayed and asked for clarity and peace in regard to this issue.

As much as I wanted to fantasize and bring the past into the present in order to make myself the victim, make myself justified in being upset and make him the bad guy, in a moment of clarity I finally understood what the underlying issue was. The answer I received was simply this: "Trust our plan."

The problem with my uncle was, in fact, a very simple one. The bottom line was that I did not have faith in God's plan for my life. The problem was not created by my uncle or his action, but by my unwillingness to trust God and to trust that He had a better plan for my life. Again, and throughout this book, I say that God's plan for your life and your highest will are one. This was what was meant by "trust our plan." This statement was inviting me to put aside my ego-self, to put aside what was bringing me judgment, stress, worry, blame and separation and to allow the real message of the moment to come through. This statement was inviting me to put aside the veil of the ego-self so that I could see and allow the true gift that was presenting itself through the manifestations of the present moment. This gift, once illuminated in love, allowed peace and joy to once again be experienced. However, prior to this realization, I had decided that my ego-self's plan for my life was better suited for me than God's plan for my life. I had decided that I knew more about what was best for me than God did. I had decided to trust my ego-self's plan for the universe instead of God's plan. The only real problem was my lack of faith in God's decision-making skills. I mean, He could create the universe and all living things in it, but He could not take care of my little personal family issue, right?

From this example, you can see that whenever the emotions or incidents you experience are perceived with aversion, you have chosen to trust your ego-self's plan for the universe over God's plan. You have chosen to have faith in the way you believe life should be, rather than faith in God's offering. You have chosen to depend on your perception over God's knowledge. You probably don't know what you are going to have for lunch tomorrow, let alone what is in the best interest of the universe!

In every circumstance, in every instant, you have been gifted with the free will to choose how you will react. You can choose to react with worry, conflict, chaos and confusion, or you can choose to react with trust, peace of mind, love and joy. Every instant, regardless of its manifestation, allows you the opportunity to begin anew, to experience life with peace of mind, love and joy. The knowledge that you have the power to react to any circumstance, any time, and in any way you desire, is the beginning of understanding the absolute power of free will.

When you say the words "Thy will be done" you are equally saying "May my highest will be done." There is no difference. Trust, peace of mind, love and joy will come about by choosing to have faith in God's plan for your life. Your highest will and God's will are one. God's plan for your life is your highest will for your life.

You are the vehicle God uses to express Himself on this planet. Allow Him to flow through you. It is only by allowing this that His expression can be experienced. Believe it or not, you have the final decision on what will flow through you and into the world. Not even God would force Himself through you, unless you allow Him to. When you allow God to flow through you, this is your natural flow, this is your trueself, and this is your Godself. My friend, if you allow God to flow through you, you would want no other way. When you allow God to flow through you, peace, love and joy extend through you and into the world. Forgiveness and love are offered immediately to your brother and sister. And what you offer your brother and sister, you experience yourself, for it must first flow through you. Allow yourself to see and feel His expression being expressed through His other vehicles and all you will ever experience will be peace of mind, love and joy.

Everything that happens to you, every situation you regard as a problem, regardless of how negatively you choose to perceive it, is of your will. You have chosen your experiences in order to assist you in your learning process. In a gentler light, problems or difficult situations can be seen as lessons, learning opportunities and gifts presented to you by your Godself in order to remember your perfection and your brother and sister's perfection.

You have the absolute power and free will to perceive every situation in the light you wish to see it. The light in which you view and experience these situations and problems is simply a reflection of the light within your mind. For you know best what will help you listen, learn and grow. The light you use is not a reflection of the truth about you. It is simply a reflection of what you believe to be the truth about you.

The gift offered to you by God is the free will to choose how you will perceive the situations or experiences in your daily life. Every day of your life, you can choose to live in heaven or hell. Every day of your life, knowingly or not, you make that choice. How much you choose to suffer is, in the end, up to you.

The poem that follows, "An Unknown Confederate Soldier, A Creed for Those Who Have Suffered," is one that so eloquently summarizes our desire to follow our own plans based on what we think is best for our lives. The author shows us that when we trust God's plan, the result is a life with much more meaning than we could have possibly imagined.

"I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey...
I asked for health, that I might do great things.
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things...
I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise...
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God...
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was given life, that I may enjoy all things...
I got nothing I asked for - but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among men, most richly blessed!" ¹²
 

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