Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.
(1 Peter 5:8, AMP)
Tears sprang to Jenna’s eyes as I shared how God had put her on my heart. Throughout our friendship I have watched her live intentionally: From raising her children to how involved she is at church, her work and career, and how she lives life. Even amidst her busy life, I have always recognized an intentional lifestyle in Jenna.
“You are too kind,” she whispered. Her humility only strengthened my resolve and as she laid out her thoughts on intentionality, it was clear that the Holy Spirit was moving in this conversation:
“We are at war every day in a spiritual realm and there is always going to be temptations to go the wrong direction. Whether it be negativity or sin or whatever, we are always at war, we are at war for our families and so many different places in our life and if I’m not intentional with my time, I am on the defense instead of the offense. The devil is intentional, setting out ‘to kill, steal, and destroy,’ (John 10:10). He wants us to fail and struggle, to be unfaithful, unreliable, inconsistent, and self-destructive. He wants us to miss bible study and leave our godly companions behind. Intentionality is a piece of that spiritual warfare.”
As Jenna reflected on how she wants her life to be better and different than it was 20 years ago, she maintained, “that’s not going to happen on accident.” And I could not agree more as she went on to reference 1 Peter 5:8, “the devil roams like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour.” He is not walking around hoping that we sin, he is actively tempting and tripping us up, purposely setting up distractors to keep us from living with intention.
As she talked about the complacency of today’s world with everything being too much or too easy, with more access and tools to information than ever before, Jenna continued, “It’s at our fingertips, with phones like minicomputers… information overload. It’s easy to search the internet and YouTube for what we need in the moment, but how much of this are our brains storing? I just think we are in a consumptive society where we forget.”
This prompted me to share a story about a young lady spending the day with her mom, shopping, hiking, and just hanging out. Later that day she told her mom that she just needed a break and was feeling a little overstimulated. But then, she went to bed that night watching videos, in the shower the next morning she listened to a podcast, she never shut down but could not seem to recognize where the stimulation was truly coming from.
In Isaiah 29:13, “The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught,’” (NIV). Even in ancient times, people found themselves in the habit of just going through the motions, unaware of what was really going on or the true purpose in their practices. “We hear a good message and have great ideas, but are we moving forward?” Jenna Asks.
Sometimes that is overwhelming. I have all these boxes to check every day, I need to be a good: mom, wife, employee, business owner, church member, youth group leader, etc. We put pressure on ourselves to be good at all these things. How do we check these boxes every day? Honestly, we can’t, many days we can’t. But I feel like you can start your day and live your life connected with the One who matters the most, God, then those other things come, and you’re prepared. It’s hard to be intentional with so many distractions.
“Have you always lived so intentionally?” I asked: “No definitely not, I think even today there are times where I’m really good at it and there are times that I am not.” Jenna’s secret is creating healthy habits making intentionality easier or habitual. One of her routines is listening to the bible recap on the YouVersion bible app every morning while she is getting ready for the day. “Its immediate, I grab my phone, click the day that I’m on… it just starts my day off.” If you have a busy lifestyle like Jenna, this is one way you can easily incorporate the word of God into your daily routine, which circles us back to the B in BALM, Be consistent.
While habits could easily become checkmarks in the box, Jenna has intentionally engaged in the interactive portion of the bible recap, keeping her Accountable! What are some good habits that you have developed and how do you keep them from being too ritualistic?