Do you ever wonder how the words or the actions you do are processed by others? Do you ever try to put yourself in their shoes and stand in the receiving end of your own words after you’ve said them? Not to be concerned with what they think of you or their opinion of you, but rather how your words and actions affect them. When you speak to someone, anyone, do you think how the words you will speak will land? Regardless of the topic or subject discussed, do you think how your words will affect the other person or people involved? Now imagine how our words and the motives of our heart affect the Lord when we pray and seek Him. This leads me to the question I want to investigate: “How can we practice intentionality in our day to day lives? How can we as heirs of God, practice intentionality with Him?
I believe that in life, we have a choice. We have the choice and the power to be intentional. In the Western world, intention is easily questioned, and rightfully so. We operate in a time when truth and motive need to be questioned more often than not. Trust is uncommon because we live in a fallen world. Without Jesus, hope would be void, and eternal death would be imminent. But because of His sacrifice, death, and resurrection, hope is attainable, and hope is present. So because of this, we get to pursue Him because He first pursued us. It is unnecessary to make salvation hyper-spiritual when it is a simple yet eternal concept. It is a love story. It is a story of divine romance where we say yes to Him, once and forever more, turning from the darkness we came from. The way I see it is to be intentional with Jesus is to show my love to Him. To be intentional with Him is to seek intimacy with Him.
But what is intentionality? Intentionality is the purposeful act of pursuit. Intention is premeditated and has a motive behind it. When you think of intentional acts, you think of acts done with purpose. To pursue Jesus in the same heart posture has the same concept. We premeditate on His presence in our hearts, and we choose to pursue it. I feel the Holy Spirit saying that there will be some who read this and fear not knowing how to be intentional with the Lord. You may know how to be intentional to a loved one, to a friend, or even to a stranger, but when it comes to Jesus, you don’t know how to. The concept of pursuing someone you can’t see may be foreign. And to that, I say it is okay. I invite you on this wonderful journey of loving the one who first loved us. How do you even start? Have childlike faith. Ask Him right now, wherever you are, “God, how can I be intentional in pursuing you?” You can ask Him out loud or in your heart; either way, He hears you, and He sees you. For me personally, in learning how to be intentional with Him, I feared my heart was not pure enough to chase after a holy God. I thought I had to be perfect in my pursuit of Him. Friend, brother, sister, whoever reads this, keep this in your heart: There is no striving in perfect love. It is possible to be intentional and not function out of performance and striving. When we invite God to reveal the truth to us, He first has to break the lie that blinds us. If not, how can we walk to safety if we are still blindfolded by the sin that entangles us? Don’t be surprised at the things He may reveal to you. After all, we are imperfect humans serving a perfect God, but thank you Jesus for redemption.
In 1 Peter 1: 7-9 NKJV, it says, ” (7) That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (8) whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, (9) receiving the end of your faith- the salvation of your souls.” Though we do not see Him, we love Him; we intently pursue Him because we love Him. There is weight in that phrase. To practice intentionality with Jesus is to die to our flesh and selfish desires. Adding to that, I believe the Lord gives us earthly depictions of spiritual principles. For example, a carpenter spends hours upon hours, possibly weeks upon weeks, working on a handcrafted piece to look like they intend it to. There is intention in every measurement, every nail placed, every angle, and every scrap of wood. The same idea is mirrored in the spiritual world- He intentionally made every single one of us in the womb of our mothers. He never made an accident in His carpentry of creating us. Every detail was intentional. And because we are made in His likeness, we can practice intentionality as He was and still is in every detail of our lives. Invite Him to expose the areas of your life where you can be more purposeful in pursuing Him. Ask Him where you aren’t dependent on Him enough. Be bold in pursuing Him as you let the fear of performance and striving fall off you. Be bold as you walk freely and practice drawing nearer to Jesus daily. You will see that as you serve Him with purpose you will begin to serve those around you with purpose. What we pour into in the secret place with Him will produce fruits of righteousness in the public.
