Intentional
As usual, I come to you, my dear readers, in the midst of an extremely busy season of life. It never seems to stop, especially in this time of life. I am near the end of my senior year. Most people seem to talk about how senior year will be the best year of my life, but I’m going to be completely honest: it is not shaping up to be that way where I’m at. I feel like I’m being constantly bombarded with questions and college and life. Which, I know, is what everyone deals with at this point in their life. It’s a lot of scary change all at once. Even more so, in today’s world, there is a cacophony of sound constantly bombarding our senses.
“Do this.” “Get this done.” “Here’s the deadline.” “What college are you going to?” “What are you going to do?” “Wanna hang out?” “The homework is due tonight.” “Why are you so tired?” “Make sure to make time for yourself.” “Take care, but not too much.” “You have things to do.”
And it goes on…
And on…
And on…
We live in a world where anything and everything is constantly trying to catch our attention and steal our time, our likes, our views, our follows. Today I want to talk about something that God has revealed to me through study.
Chloe has been gracious enough to start a Bible study with me, and we have really been enjoying it. This plan is called the Bible Recap and is supposed to help us go through the entire Bible in one year. Before, I will admit that I was absolutely horrible about the habit of reading my Bible. I would read it every once in a while whenever I had the time or felt like it. Mostly, this was because I didn’t even know where to start or what I was supposed to be “studying”. Lately, it has been amazing to dive into the Word of God a little bit every day, and through that, God has revealed a lot to me. With this reading plan, every day, we have to have a “God Shot” or something that we saw about God’s character in that day’s reading.
One “God Shot” that has really stuck with me lately is that God is intentional.
Intentionality with God:
In every little thing that God does, he is intentional with his time, his relationships, his connections, and even the names he gives those he loves. It has been so cool to go through the first books of the bible and see that our God is so good and infinitely complex. One of my favorite things that I have come to know about God is that no matter how long we search, we can come to God every single day of our lives, and every single day, we will be able to find something new about his character and his creation. Some people say that the Bible is boring (spoiler, I used to be one of them), but the Word of our God is living and active! Amen! Lately, some of my favorite examples of this intentionality have been through the name of Moses, the structure of the Tabernacle, and the foreshadowing of Christ in the Old Testament.
First, what I noticed is that the name “Moses” originates from the Hebrew verb משה (masha), which means to extract from water. This is also reiterated in Exodus 2:10.
“ When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
Now, a lot of people may think, “Yeah, why is this important? She literally just named him after what she did to him.” But what I thought was cool was that many, many years later, God would use Moses to draw out his people from Egypt. And what was one of the miracles that God is most famous for performing through Moses? Splitting the Red Sea… so that the Israelites would be drawn out of the water, and Pharaoh and his men drowned. God is so cool.
I would also love to go into more detail about the next two, but I probably don’t have too much time. However, as I was reading through the directions Moses got from God about how to build the Tabernacle, I saw (with some help) that everything in the Tabernacle (furniture and all) reflected in some way God’s glory and the coming of the Messiah.
Also when being given the instructions on what the composition of anointing oil and incense should look like in Exodus 30:22-38, what 3 items are mentioned? Liquid myrrh for the sacred anointing oil, pure frankincense for the incense, and gold are common themes seen throughout the instructions for the tabernacle. Reflecting the 3 (which is also a sacred number) gifts that would be given to Jesus by the Magi.
Last thing, when looking at the 12 stones for the 12 tribes of Israel, those seen on the priest’s garments in the new Jerusalem and referred to many other times, refer to the video below. It’s so cool to learn and watch!
Our God is SO INTENTIONAL! He knows all, and that brings me so much joy and comfort!
HOWEVER, getting back on track. Intentionally. I feel like that is something extremely important that the world has really lost.
It is easy to give God our last and leftovers, but much harder to intentionally give him our first and best. Something that has made this much easier for me is the fact that nothing is mine. This sounds counterproductive, but knowing that my time, my days, my possessions, and my body are not truly mine but God’s makes it so much easier to give up what I have been trusted with. God is the creator of all life, and all good things come from him. When I carve out time for God every day and think about him above all else, I am just bringing back to God what he has given to me. God blesses the time and possessions that we bring to him.
When we are intentional about our time with God, we are able to abide in him, and life begins to come from us, not at us.
Everywhere we turn, there are so many things that are fighting for our attention, our every second. Somehow, we are guilty of scrolling for hours on our phones without even realizing where the day went. With phones in our pocket and entertainment at our fingertips at all times, it becomes extremely difficult to be intentional about our time. Instead of getting work done, we become overwhelmed. But you know what’s infinitely easier than homework? Scrolling.
“Just five minutes” is the mantra that repeats daily. And somehow, those five minutes always turn into multiple hours. I strongly believe that distraction is one of the enemy’s biggest weapons that he has used. More and more, we have become “too busy” for God. All the enemy needs you to do in order to attack your spiritual journey isn’t necessarily plant evil… he just needs to plant idle distractions to keep you from doing anything but growing yourself and others.
Intentionality in work and rest:
Business is something that the enemy has infused into our everyday lives in this age of technology and industry. Our attention spans are slowly getting shorter. There is nothing that seems to be important enough to dwell on. We have lost the ability to be still and know. The greatest lie that the enemy has to tell us sounds true: “You have time.”
The problem with this lie is that we simply don’t. All the time we waste is time that could have been spent being productive instead of filling our minds with hollow promises and products. It is important to be intentional not only in our time with God but also in how we spend our everyday lives. Instead of scrolling, what could we do to make life just a little easier than it was yesterday? What can we do to make ourselves or our lives better, even in a small way?
I recently read a book called “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos” by Jordan B Peterson (It was a good book, I recommend it), but one of the rules in that book that I really liked was “compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not who others are today.” This is such good advice because it shows that if we are able to change something in our lives intentionally, something small, every day, we can change for the better. If we make the most of the time we are given, we can make the most of our lives.
Now, please don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean that we should constantly be draining ourselves through work and whatever seems to fill the day. After all, even God rested after creation. Rest is sacred to God and is essential to life. However, I am saying that rest should be intentional, as working should be intentional. Rest should be rejuvenating and well thought out. That is one reason why the Sabbath is given to God’s people. God carved out a day in the week to let his people rest. God didn’t just say, “Rest when you would like. Whenever you have time.” He carved a day out of the week made for the rest of his people. Rest is made to be rejuvenating, and it is what resets our hearts and minds to be the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). Intentionality, in work and rest, is something that God wants for us and one of many parts of a fulfilling kingdom life.
Personal Experience:
I feel that I can speak on this topic with confidence because I am most guilty when it comes to being “too busy” in all that I do. I am involved in countless clubs, extracurricular activities, leadership positions, rigorous classes, and volunteer opportunities. In the midst of all of that, a lot of times, my Bible can seem insignificant. I come home just wanting to lay in bed and scroll. In the end, social media promises to be a reprieve and not to have to think. Right? I spend hours on my phone, only to be met with even more exhausted eyes and less time in the day. Less time to do what I need and want to do. Hopelessness stems from that cycle. And yet, I seem to be trapped… I am the most guilty when it comes to being “too busy”. But I know that whenever there is a vicious cycle, God provides a way out. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
I have found that the intentional time I have spent with God has served me well. I am calmer and more ready to take on what life throws at me. One of the quotes that I have loved hearing more recently is the fact that “Life comes from God, through you. Life doesn’t come at you.” This allows me to rest in peace, dwelling on the word of God and abiding in him. We must be intentional about our relationships and our actions, and then we can rest, knowing that God is in control and that he will take what the enemy meant for evil, and he’ll turn it for good.
Intentionality in Relationships:
This principle is shown even in relationships. A man who is intentional in a relationship and actively strives to put God first will thrive in a relationship. That is where the core of the relationship should be. It is much harder with a boy that doesn’t know what his intentions are. Ones that take you and lead you on and aren’t sure what they want. No labels. That can be extremely hurtful and unhealthy in a relationship. Most often, as Christians, we think of dating with the intention of marriage. I don’t want to waste time with anyone that I don’t believe would want to be with me long term. Communication is also firmly rooted in intention. We need to know our boundaries in a relationship and what our intentions are in order to know how to communicate effectively.
In friendships, intentionality is also extremely important. Much like dating, communication is also essential in friendships. However, being intentional with your friends may look a bit different. For me, it means actively telling my friends how much they are loved, and I carve out time for them. I am intentional and try to constantly tell them how much I love them. Wherever there is a conflict, or they are mad at me for whatever reason, I purposely sit down with them and try to figure out what is going on. They know that I am there for them whenever they need me. For me, intentionality also looks like setting boundaries. My friends know me very well, and they know the boundaries I refuse to cross.
Intentional boundaries and conversations in all relationships are so important. Intentionality will make those relationships run smoother.
Why Care?
A life filled with intentionality will be a good one, and I have come to more fully realize that through writing this post and implementing intentionality in my life. An intentional lifestyle will reap flourishing relationships, dynamics, and work.
Intentionality needs to be balanced. It is easy to take intentionality and twist it to be constantly working or being serious. Again, fun is a good thing and is a part of the wonderful life God wants for us.
I am still growing and learning how to bring intentionality in my daily routine. It is so important and I believe that it is part of communicating, learning, and loving effectively. So, I encourage you to try it. Bring intentionality into your life… and just see how things might change.
Until Next Time,
Peace Out, Lovers!