The key to our spiritual maturity is humility. It is in humility that we are able to do God's will. God's will works in two ways: Things that He desires and those that He permits. It is when we we surrender our own will that we begin to see what He desires for us and are able to differentiate from those He permits.
Elder Macarius says,
Since God's will works in two ways, it does not bind us or make us unfree. Some things He desires; others He permits. The second way is made manifest when we insist on things happening as we think best. But when we docilely abandon ourselves to His will, He manifests the first, which is, ultimately, of greater advantage to us.
This idea of surrender of our will is not easy to accomplish and requires much work with such activities like fasting, prayer, reading of Scripture, participating in the Sacraments––all the elements of the Orthodox Way of Life. This is the aim of the Orthodox Way of Life.
Elder Macarius
