“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.”
Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets
At the beginning of this year, I felt compelled to set strategic, highly specific intentions. After signing my next book contract (Revell Books), which has a January 2021 release date, I found myself with an expanse of time on my hands. That is a long time, I thought. God must be up to something I’m not aware of right now.
Knowing that nature abhors a vacuum, i.e., empty or unfilled spaces are unnatural as they go against laws of nature and physics, I knew I’d better have a plan. You see, I don’t like “empty or unfilled spaces,” either. They make me really uncomfortable.
And, I believe that is exactly what I needed.
An expanse of time.
Empty and unfilled spaces.
In which my discomfort agitates.
What Do You Really Want?
For the last year or so, a deep shift in my soul has been taking place. My healing journey leading me home to my true, God-breathed self. After the release of Overcoming Hurtful Words and the ups and downs of my publishing house, I found myself face-to-face with myself. Layer after layer of ego being stripped; leaving me alone with my thoughts. One dominant thought kept rising to the top:
What do you really want?
What do I really want? Am I allowed to even ask myself that question? It felt so very selfish. I repressed it like I had repressed other seemingly selfish thoughts and questions in the past.
And then, through a four-part podcast series by Andy Stanley, in which he asks the same question, I concluded it wasn’t selfish at all. In Mark 10:51, Jesus asks this direct question to a blind man.
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asks.
With no hesitation at all, the blind man speaks, “I want to see.”
Immediately, Jesus heals him.
“Your faith has made you whole,” Jesus said. “Now, go in peace.”
From that powerful moment on, Bartimaeus, the blind man, followed the ways of Jesus.
I wholeheartedly believe that the blind man’s intention aligned with God’s intention and therefore, resulted in a miraculous movement forward.
Real Love is Intentional
When you take action, from the smallest thing from writing a To-Do list in the morning, you set into motion corresponding effects that change your immediate future, and if you follow up day after day it can become a habit way of living and the results will be exponential. But if you fail, to take that first action, then there wont be much in your future for results.
The Laws of the Universe
Jesus, Love Incarnate, was a man of great intention. His directness drew people to him. No messing around. No small talk. No drowning in popular opinion. When he stood in front of a person, he was all in.
He always, and I believe we can be this forthright, called people into their fullest potential and purpose. It was and is his great love for each one of his created beings that compels him to be so direct. He wants more for us than we want for ourselves.
That is what intentions do. When spoken aloud, they set the laws of the universe in motion. And, because God created the laws of the universe, they signal to God that we are all in. We want to be called forth into the fullness of our potential and purpose.
What Do You Really Want?
Maybe, like me, you started the New Year off with strategic, highly specific intentions.
Maybe, you didn’t.
Today is your day. Imagine Jesus standing right in front of you. He asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”
Yes, it is hard to imagine, but take a few quiet moments to see yourself in that holy, highly uncomfortable, pretty unnerving “space.”
I offer three short “rules of thumb,” for declaring an intention:
- Be positive.
- Use present tense.
- Use first person.
Here is one of mine:
Jesus, I want true freedom (Galatians 5:1).
Now, it’s your turn:
______________________________________________________________________________.
Go in Peace
Now that you have aligned your intention with God’s heart, expect the same miraculous movement forward in your own life. It is going to be so good. Please share what unfolds with us. We will be waiting to celebrate with you.
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