2021 Intentions

For the past 5-6 years, every “goal” I’ve made for the new year has been swept aside by forces beyond my control. One year it was a bout with myocarditis, an infection in my heart. One year it was a move to a new city. Two years were weddings. Moving to a condo was another. Moving suddenly “home” again, too. And so I stand at the threshold of 2021 wondering what it will bring.

A few years ago, I read a book called Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam. My biggest take-away from that book was the idea of intentions vs. goals. For me this was a huge shift. If my goals got sabotaged by life, I felt like a failure. However, if my intentions got swept aside by circumstances, it was just a change of plans. The difference, for me, reflected the admonition in James 4:13-15:

Goals or intentions, it’s really just semantics. Well, semantics and the intention of the heart. It’s an acknowledgement that the Lord is the one who knows what 2021 will bring. It might be the accomplishment of things we work toward. It might be a huge curve in the road of our journey. Either way, we have to trust that Lord’s plan over our own. Trust that He knows the plans He has for us. That His plans are good and for our good, even if they obliterate any goals or intentions we’ve set.

But of course this doesn’t mean we do nothing. Instead, we plan and persevere toward the things we feel the Lord has called us to.

This year, my professional intention is to finish a new book. I intend to diligently pursue this intention.

But if God desires this to be (yet another) year of relational or spiritual growth over professional progress, so be it. For when I stand before Jesus one day He will not congratulate me on how many books I managed to write. He will (I pray!) commend me for being His faithful servant no matter how He decided that would look in my life.

So when I boil down all my goals and intentions, past and present, to their very essence, the ultimate goal of my life, both professional and personal, is to know and love Jesus and to follow wherever He leads me. This goal never changes, no matter how often the calendar turns over to a new year. And I cannot fail in its achievement, for the Holy Spirit continually reminds me of God’s promise that I am His child and He will not forsake me.