Are You Living an Intentional Life?

By Carol Doyel –

Living intentionally may seem impossible in what may seem like an unpredictable world. “Intentional living” can be difficult when we face unexpected circumstances like a loss of a loved one, financial hardship, an accident, illness or any number of things that can impact how we live day-to-day.

How can we live intentionally with such unpredictability?

First let me define what I mean by intentional living. We all have unexpected circumstances in life that we may not be prepared for, but intentional living is something we determine to do regardless of our circumstances.  It has more to do with what we do with our life than what happens to us.

We can make plans but due to circumstances outside of our control, the best laid plans can be disrupted, delayed, or drastically altered. It happens every day, from simple distractions that keep us from accomplishing what we may have planned for the day to major events that alter our lives.

Sadly, a premature death of a child or spouse, loss of a job or pension, a natural disaster that leaves you homeless, an infidelity of a spouse that leads to divorce, can change our lives permanently.

These are not just hiccups or bumps in the road that cause a minor change in our plans for a day or week, but these are life-changing situations that can leave us wondering why, and now what?

Regardless of unexpected circumstances, challenges, or life altering events, we can still chose to live with intention.  Intentional living is deciding what’s important to you, and then making choices that honor what you decide is important. The best way I know to do this is by taking time each day to make sure how I’m living lines up with what I say is important to me.  When I became a Christian I realized there were many things in my life that I thought were important that no longer held the same value or importance.

As I began to put God first, I found that other things seemed to fall into place. Not that it made everything easy or removed challenges or the unpredictability that we all face on a day-to-day basis. But now regardless of my circumstances I have peace. And I live with more intention. My intention is based on my understanding of who God is and who He made me to be. From that all other things flow.

Intention is getting up in the morning and taking time to seek God, to ask Him for direction for my day – Laying aside my plans for His plans. Not that God doesn’t care about our plans or our desires, as a matter-of-fact, when we delight our self in the Lord He gives us the desires of our heart. He knows our heart, He knows our intentions and when our desires and intentions line-up with His, we are certain of great things regardless of our circumstances.

Living intentionally requires us to move beyond circumstances, to rise above them, to keep our focus on our greater purpose in life.  As we seek God and ask Him each day, by taking time out of our hectic schedules and we learn to rest in Him, we will find peace for our souls and learn to live with more intention.