Inspiration Through: Intention

When I first got the idea to start a weekly devotional for my blog, I really had no idea if this would even come to fruition. I got the idea while I was sitting in church and though I was initially excited about it, when I got home and was ready to write the first post, I quickly got discouraged. I started thinking to myself “what if I lose readers because of this? What if people unsubscribe because I’m talking more about my faith? Am I really doing this for the right reason?” and perhaps everything else that you can think of that would keep you from moving forward with a plan God gave you. Though I’m very open about my love for Jesus, I can admit that I had those thoughts and they almost kept me from drafting this up. I literally thought about this all night! When I woke up the next morning to finish getting things together for my flight, something weighed on me and reminded me about one of my biggest lessons from 29: intention.

2017 was a rough year for me, but it was mostly my own fault. Much of what happened to me stemmed from me not moving with intention. From work to relationships, I “went with the flow” instead of stating my intentions, asking someone else what their intentions were, or being honest about what I needed. Although “going with the flow” can work in some cases, that can’t be the main mantra of your life. Everything that you do must be done with intention. And, what you do for God is no different. God created each of us with intention and gave us an intentional purpose.

He knew exactly what would happen before it happened and knew what we would need before we even needed. He is intentional with His love for us, His resources for us, and intentional about who He lets us cross paths with. As my Pastor often says, "there are no accidents in the life of a Christian because everything is based on choice." God’s intentional creation of you proves that. That’s also what I believe about God pushing me to do these weekly devotionals. He is intentional about pushing me to do more of His work and do it in a way that is relatable to those that need it. When it comes to intention, however, it must be pure.

Even with the smallest things, you should ask yourself “is the reason I’m doing this pure? Are my intentions of God and of good?” If you have to second guess yourself with your answer, you probably already know the real answer. Being intentional also moves past doing for others. Try asking yourself: have I been intentional about my career? My goals? Improving my finances? Restoring or softening my heart? What about loving on yourself? Have you really done that? How about loving on God? He is the Author and the Finisher, but loving on Him cannot be omitted. Intentionality is a way to improve yourself and take ownership of the things you’ve been missing out on in your life. And as long as your confidence lies in God and your heart remains pure, your intentions will always be of good faith. My ask: For this first week, I truly charge you to find one thing in your life that you would like to be more intentional about. Whether that's having better spending habits, improving your attitude at work, or just loving on your friends/spouse/family more, find a way to become intentional about improving that one thing. As long as your heart is pure, God will always provide the resources to accomplish His will. Take it one day at a time and watch God do His part. Until next week, friends!

With Creative (and Intentional) Thoughts,

-Kp