ENCOURAGEMENT
intentional
By: Dominique Adonis
“I admit that I haven’t yet acquired the absolute fullness that I’m pursuing, but I run with passion into His abundance so that I may reach the purpose that Jesus Christ has called me to fulfil and wants me to discover. I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however, I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory prize through the anointing of Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14, The Passion Translation It has been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And while I can appreciate this quote and the motivation behind it, I feel the need to clarify that the matter of heaven and hell is not determined by intentions but by faith (Eph. 2:8-9), so there’s that! And that being intentional is more than just the wishy-washy desire to do or see something come to fruition. Being intentional speaks of taking deliberate action towards a desired end or goal. We all crave significance, we want our lives to matter and that’s because God created us on purpose, for a purpose. You can say that God
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was intentional when He knit you together in your mother’s womb. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” – Psalm 139:13 NIV Your eye color, hair texture all the way to your ethnicity, and gender were carefully planned. There are no mistakes with God. To your parents, you might have been a mistake, but you were in the mind of God long before He created you. “Before I shaped you in the womb I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations—that’s what I had in mind for you.” – Jeremiah 1:5 The Message God works all things, including your life, according to His purpose and purpose is a powerful thing. Dr. Myles Munroe said, “where purpose is unknown, abuse is inevitable.” Allow me to add.. “where purpose is unknown or ignored, abuse is inevitable.” Purpose determines the function of a thing. A crystal vase cannot be used as a cricket
bat, it will break because it was not created for that purpose. And so we sit with broken, hearts, minds, and lives because we or someone else operated outside of purpose. The awareness and revelation of purpose will cause us to be intentional, about time, relationships, resources, and opportunities. An unintentional life accepts everything and does nothing. An intentional life embraces only the things that will add to the mission of significance.” – John C. Maxwell. A passionate prayer life doesn’t just happen, healthy habits can’t fall from the sky. A successful career and credibility will not happen overnight and marriage is hard work. All of life’s most important aspects demand intentionality. God has given us His Holy Spirit to empower us, however, we must be intentional about doing our part.
