Have you ever had a word or phrase that continuously plays on repeat in your head? Everywhere you look, you see examples of the word as if it is being shouted at you. This is how I have felt about the word “intentional.”
God is intentional. It is one of His many characteristics. He is intentional in the words and stories that He placed in the Bible. God knew that the Bible would be used for generations and intentionally chose every word. The Lord continuously reminds me that He is intentional in my life through the people I encounter, the words that others speak to me, the path I walk - every move I make, God’s intent is playing out all around me.
I have seen God’s intentionality living out in my life lately, but I have also found it within scripture. Jeremiah 1 tells of the calling of the prophet Jeremiah, and while I may not be an Old Testament prophetess, the words the Lord speaks to Jeremiah ring true to me. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” From the very beginning, God has been intentional in creating us, preparing us, and knowing what we would do and speak. The passage continues to show us God’s intentionality in verse 9. “Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, I have put my words in your mouth.” The Lord did not just stop being intentional after we were created, He continues to guide us and provide us with the words to say.
As I explore God’s intentionality, the first chapter of Jeremiah is providing me with peace and guidance. However, reading it brought a little disappointment. This chapter of Jeremiah reads as if God is there physically talking and touching Jeremiah, and that is not the way that I have experienced God. As I ponder this thought, I have realized that while I may not have God physically reaching out and touching me, I have the Holy Spirit at work in me. The Lord was intentional in giving me His gift of the Holy Spirit.
God is calling me to look for the ways that His intentionality is playing out in my life. So, as I begin to answer His call, my challenge to you is for you to look for the ways that God is being intentional with you?
