Action Always Beats Intention.

Think about that for a minute. That simple statement packs a powerful punch.

Speaking volumes of truth it stabs at my heart more than just a little.

Relating to it in a number of ways I intend to eat healthier, lose weight, exercise more, read more, pray more sincerely, read my Bible every day, go to bed earlier so I can get up earlier in order to get all these good intentions done!

But…

…often, I struggle with following through, putting feet on my goals and aspirations. Whether it’s a lack of motivation or time, poor planning, procrastination, it’s a always a battle to stay on track or to do the right thing.

The last two years my "word for the year" seemed to focus more on my physical desires and struggles to lose weight and get healthy. Though these are certainly things that God wants us to pursue and be good stewards of (believe me, I still need to put some action to these intentions) this year is different. I knew I needed to change things around and focus greater on my spiritual desires as well as surrendering with obedience to God’s leading. With this comes a whole new set of inhibitors to taking action: fear, feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, intimidation, insecurity, not knowing where to start, becoming overwhelmed…yada, yada, yada….

But getting it done remains the same. Without action, intention has no worth, gives no results – with no results, no growth and no reward.

Good intentions get us nowhere. We have to take action. How? By choosing. Choosing to do whatever it takes. To do what is required to create change in order to grow. Then the results and reward will come. Choosing requires surrender and probably some sacrifice. Choosing to surrender to the actions and steps it will take may require sacrifice of things such as time or sleep. But in the end, worth it. Worth it to see the results we desire, to see the growth and goals we, or God, want to see.

So what if we still continue to fail at following through to do what we need to do? Do we give up? God is full of grace and mercy and He’s the God of second chances. So we choose again, forget what’s done and start again. Every day and every minute, choose. If we don’t, we will never reach our goals much less move toward them. We will miss the best that God has for us.

“But this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward
to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13-14

When we realize the prize, this is when the sense of accomplishment and joy comes, an added bonus to all the hard work. 

Intention alone gets us nowhere. However, being intentional with action beats it every time!

Are you working toward goals with good intention? Or are you being intentional with action? What are some ways you take action? What gets you going again to keep from giving up?