Intentionally Intentional
It was Christmas morning of the year 2011. My husband, Danny, handed me a beautifully wrapped box. (Okay, actually, that’s a total lie. Danny can’t wrap presents. He wraps packages like a disgruntled postal worker who’s lost a couple of fingers. Just being honest.)
As I peeled back the paper from the mid-sized box, the packaging quickly gave away what was inside: As Seen on TV – “The Forever Lazy” Adult Fleece Onesie.
At first, I was a bit thrown off by the gift. There were images and text all over the box boasting of the sloth-like lifestyle that could finally be achieved by the wearer of one of these fine fleecy frocks. “Read a book, watch TV, Do nothing” … all things that had been out of my reach for some time since the birth of our first child, who was a very active toddler at this point.
Like many young moms (or moms of young children), my daily wardrobe was usually a mix of PJs and an old t-shirt. It was purely for functionality: I had to be ready to go to the grocery store or sneak in a nap at the drop of a hat! So sure, it wasn’t the most flattering ensemble, but it wasn’t due to laziness that I wasn’t putting in the effort.
As my eyes continued to scan the box, they locked on to the bottom right corner: Size XL.
“Ahhhh, so this is it, eh?” One of the voices in my brain pushed its way to the front of my thoughts. “This is how he sees us? An extra-large, forever lazy, frumpy, Oompa Loompa?”
“Well, maybe if we tried a little harder once in a while. I mean, look at the other moms…” A second voice chimed in.
“Is this what he thinks we do all day? Sit around, watch TV and do nothing?” The third voice drilled bitterly.
“Extra Large?!?!?” Voice #4 began to wail. “He thinks we’re fat!”
I don’t know how many minutes of silence had passed before Danny spoke up.
“It’s to keep you warm.” He simply explained. “You know, ‘cuz you always are saying how cold you are…”
Slowly, I lifted my gaze from the box until I made direct eye-contact with Danny.
“Do you still have the receipt?” I asked coolly.
Let’s give poor Danny a break here because, in all honesty, he had good intentions in choosing to give me the “Forever Lazy” for Christmas. It was my interpretation of the gift that caused the real problem. (Bonus point for any men that may be reading this: Always consider how your gift will be “interpreted,” not just what your intentions are. You’re welcome.)
Good intentions – we all have them. (Or, at least, like to think we do.) However, they produce very little results in our lives. Sort of like the Forever Lazy: It’s a cozy blanket-suit to wear around the house, but one look in the mirror and you ain’t impressing anybody! Not even yourself! Good intentions can give us the “warm fuzzies” for a while, but it’s not good soil for God’s seeds of truth to take root, grow, and produce fruit.
Look at Psalm 139:13-16:
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (ESV)
God does not have “good intentions” in the sense that He just rolls the dice every day and hopes it works out for the universe He created.
When God created you, it was INTENTIONAL!
He intentionally counts your steps and your breaths and your heartbeats. Everything we see in the Bible about the creation of the universe, to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, to the foretelling of the end days and the return of Christ in Revelation is 100% INTENTIONAL.
If we are created intentionally, then we have to intentionally live, not fall back on our good intentions. At the end of the day, all they add up to is a pile of “shoulda-coulda-woulda.”
Let’s get intentional right now! Ready? HA! Yes, you are! Quick – go grab a pen and paper. I’ll wait here. I’ll even save our spot, so you’ll know right where we are:
First, in the middle of the page, write your name and put a circle around it. Next, from that circle draw a line out and put another big circle at the other end. Now write someone else’s name in that circle. It can be a friend, a co-worker, a neighbour, a family member – someone who you interact with on a regular basis. You should have something like this:
Nice! But let’s keep going: Who else is in your circle of people here? Names have probably popped up in your head throughout the week and you’ve thought to yourself, “I wonder how they’re doing?” Make some more circles!
Now let’s get intentional! First and foremost: How can you intentionally pray – and even fast – for these people? What is happening in their lives that only the Lord can change? When are you praying for them? This is intentional prayer: How are you praying for them, what are you praying for them, when are you praying for them. These are people the Holy Spirit has intentionally put in your path, so you have all the authority and power to be extravagant in your prayers for them! A prayer of good intentions will be a quick “bless ‘em Lord” or not even a pray at all, just another name on the list of people you have well wishes for. But intentional prayers move mountains.
Let’s move on to phase 2: Holy Spirit, how can we intentionally go and serve these people? Yikes! Now we’re really taking off the Forever Lazy here! It may feel like a big jump, but when you start intentionally prayer for people, thanking God for them, interceding for them, Jesus starts to show you some of His intentions: Grace. Redemption. Love. Eternity. All these things you will not want to miss out on! From that point on, the sky’s the limit!
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Relationships restored. Miraculous healings. The Gospel shared with every tribe, tongue, and nation. Life where there was once death. These have always been God’s intentions.
Lord, lead us to live intentionally!