Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/2327

2327 God's will or permission.... free will....

May 8, 1942: Book 32

God's will is decisive for every event in the world, even if it is caused by human will. Only what God wants or what He allows can happen or be carried out, and yet man is responsible for his will. God knows both about the will of man since eternity and also about the effect of it, and yet He does not prevent people from putting their will into action, but according to these deeds His will also intervenes so that the salvation of the soul can be promoted thereby. Earthly events usually also have an earthly effect, and the fact that God allows these earthly effects is often incomprehensible to people. But God's concern is for people's souls.... where these are in danger, He intervenes, but only in such a way that people's will nevertheless remains unaffected. He does not prevent them from carrying out their deeds, even if they are evil, i.e. only born out of unkindness. And this makes people doubt the existence of a God of love, wisdom and omnipotence. But a violent intervention will make them doubt this existence in exactly the same way, for as long as they do not realize that people's freedom of will may not be curtailed if they are to become what they are meant to be, they will not understand that God's intervention is only necessary for the sake of spiritual development, for once again they will only look at earthly events and their effect on earthly life.

(8.5.1942) But it is always divine will that everything that happens can somehow benefit the soul.... that therefore, although the body is in danger, the soul can remain unharmed or derive great spiritual advantages from it, depending on its will. God's love for His living creations is so great that He truly would not allow anything to happen which would hinder people's ascent upwards, which is the meaning and purpose of earthly life. But on the other hand He also allows the opposing power every opportunity to develop so that free will decides for itself. If this free will is turned towards evil, He will nevertheless not make the human being unfree because this would be contrary to divine order. However, in accordance with this will turned towards evil, He now allows what this will has caused to take effect. And the effects must indeed be extremely painful on earth if they are to result in spiritual progress, otherwise humanity would not learn to detest evil and would fall prey to this power more and more. The spiritual state of people is decisive as to whether and when God Himself intervenes and puts an end to the activity of the evil forces. If people's will turns to God, then the power of evil is broken and it finds no place where it can work successfully.... God does not hinder it, but people themselves can hinder it, and consequently they themselves, through their consent or rejection, promote or hinder what happens. Bad deeds can never be God's will, but they can only be carried out if His will does not oppose them.... And thus He allows that which is caused by people's own will so that they change their own will as a result and thus come closer to their actual goal, i.e. turn towards God. However, this does not exclude God Himself from intervening if He deems it necessary.... For even the activity of the evil power is subject to limits which it must not exceed.... But if the human will is still turned towards it, then the divine intervention will also have an extremely painful earthly effect on people, for once again it is the soul which is in danger and which is to be liberated by this intervention. Hence, if only world events and their effect on earthly life are taken into account, it will hardly be recognized by people that God's will is decisive, and consequently God will be rejected by those who do not grant earthly life a deeper meaning and purpose because they cannot recognize a wise and loving guidance which wants to achieve an approach to Himself through suffering and tribulation while respecting people's freedom of will....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers