How Catholic men keep moving when life goes dark

When you don’t know what to do next: Here’s how to keep moving forward

If you’re anything like me, you’ve hit moments where life goes foggy. Your plans collapse. Your prayers feel unanswered. You stand at the edge of a job, a relationship, a calling—and suddenly, you’re asking, “What now? What am I supposed to be doing?”

Let’s be honest: it's terrifying. Not because you’re weak. But because you care. You want to do what’s right. You want to follow God. But the path feels hidden, and the silence can be deafening.

Here’s what I’ve learned, brother: You don’t have to have the next 10 steps figured out. You just need to take the next right one.

1. Remember who you are, not just what you do

When you lose your sense of direction, it’s tempting to define yourself by your last success... or your last failure. But God doesn’t call you by your title, your paycheck, or your productivity.

He calls you “Beloved.”

“You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22)

That was said before Jesus performed a single miracle. Before He taught a single sermon. Before He went to the Cross.

That identity? It’s the anchor. You are not lost. You are not aimless. You’re just in a moment of silence where your Father is inviting you to listen deeper.

2. The next step is already in your hands

Fr. Larry Richards says it best: “No Bible, no breakfast. No Bible, no bed.”

If you don’t know what to do next, start there.

Crack open the Scriptures—not for answers like Google, but for presence. For connection. For the two-by-four from God that hits you between the eyes with clarity or peace or correction.

You don’t need a vision board. You need a verse.

Before you scroll. Before you analyze. Before you spiral. Open the Word. Write down what God says. Carry it in your pocket. Let it guide your day.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

3. Don’t wait until you “feel” like moving

Here’s a hard truth: your feelings will betray you more than they guide you. They change with the wind.

But action—that’s where God meets you.

Fr. Larry doesn’t sugarcoat it: “You want to be a man of God? Then act like one. Be strong. Get up. Start moving. Your family is counting on you. Your Church is counting on you. And God is counting on you.”

Even when you don’t feel it. Especially when you don’t feel it. You move anyway.

Make your bed. Call your brother. Read one Psalm. Go to Adoration. Write your confession list. Choose one act of service.

Don’t wait for motivation. Build momentum.

4. Your purpose isn’t a job—it’s obedience

We get caught thinking our calling has to be dramatic. That we have to change careers, move to another city, go to seminary, or start a ministry.

But what if your calling is this: to be faithful with what’s in front of you?

To serve your family.
To pray with your kids.
To show up to Mass even when your soul is dry.
To stay faithful in a job that feels monotonous, but provides.
To suffer silently and offer it up.

Fr. Larry reminds us: “To be a man is to lay down your life for others. It’s not about getting your way. It’s about giving it away.”

You don’t have to know the whole road. You just have to say, “Yes” to the next mile.

5. Confusion is not failure—it’s formation

If you’re in a season where God feels silent, you’re in good company.

So was Moses. So was David. So was Jesus in the Garden.

God allows the silence not to punish you, but to prepare you.

The question isn’t “Where is God?”

The question is: “Can you trust Him even when He’s quiet?”

Fr. Larry tells the story of a man who spent six months asking, “God, are You real?” Every day in silence. Until one day, God answered—not with a thunderclap, but with a fire that never went out.

If God seems hidden, it’s not because He’s left you. It’s because He’s trying to deepen the roots of your trust.

6. Just because you’re stuck doesn’t mean you’re failing

Being still is not being lazy. Waiting is not wasting.

God is working in the background. And what feels like a pause might be the reset you need to re-align with Him.

Your job isn’t to have it all together. Your job is to surrender.

Say it out loud if you have to:

“God, I don’t know what I’m doing. But I trust You. I give You this confusion, this doubt, this mess. Lead me, Lord. One step at a time.”

So here’s your invitation, brother:

• Take a breath.

• Let go of the guilt.

• Pick up your Bible.

• Pray the Psalm you find.

• Ask God to speak.

• Then listen with your whole life.

• You may not see the whole path, but you’re not in the dark.

• You are seen.

• You are known.

• You are loved.

You were made for this moment.