For several weeks now I have been thinking about reorganizing my bedroom. Some junk purging, a little deep cleaning, new pictures on the walls and some furniture rearranging. On Pinterest there is board with my ideas about what to do and how to do it. I’ve talked about ideas with friends. And I even added a few items to my cart on Amazon. I intend to reorganize my room, however, I haven’t done a thing to make progress in this direction.
In his book, The Principal of the Path, Andy Stanley states, “Direction, not intention determines your destination.”
Direction, not intention.
In order to get anything done, we must do more than just intend for it to happen. Having intentions is great, but ultimately our destination is determined by the direction of the steps we actually take, not the ones we intend to take. With this statement, Stanley provides some necessary motivation to move out of the holding pattern of good intentions.
As we enter a new year, we must set our intentions. It is important to aim for something so we can measure success and failure. More than that though, we must begin to take steps in the direction of our intentions.
- If our intention is to get healthy, we must begin to eat well and exercise.
- If our intention is to improve our relationships, we must make time to invest in those people.
- If our intention is to grow deeper with the Lord, we must pursue a relationship with him through prayer, study, worship and serving.
The direction of the steps we take are what determine the destination of our lives. We are in a series at Cross Culture called My Story, in which we are discussing what it means to live a story worth telling. Last week Michael talked about how the decisions we make today determine the stories we will tell tomorrow.
I don’t know about you, but I want to live a good story filled with the right decisions. So let us not simply let our stories be filled with good intentions, but let them be filled with good decisions. What step is the Lord calling you to take in order to move toward the destination he is calling you to? Take that step today.
See you Sunday,
Lis