I didn’t mean to say that. It was not my intention. What I actually meant to say was… We’ve all had one of those moments, right? Where what we intended to say didn’t quite come out right or our end result ended up upside-down. If you’re reading today’s encouragement, you’re very blessed indeed to be able to pay attention to your intentions.

Pause for a moment and read Ecclesiastes 11:9-10. Go ahead, it’s ok, I’ll wait. Some of you will, no doubt, read it after completing this and some will read it even later. I know, your intent is to read it, though, right? And it’s just that simple. That’s what happens to us on a consistent basis when we are not intentional about our actions. But paying attention to what we say and how we live matters a great deal.

A person can read that passage of scripture and walk away from it saying, ‘well, Solomon said to do everything I wanna’ do, right, so I might as well live it up!’ I can tell you that without ever having read that passage, it’s what I opted to do in my life for a very long time. I’ve shared with you all that I knew of God, I just didn’t really know him. So, I took the former portion as full advice and figured I’d ride life until the wheels fell off. I’m so grateful to God he continued to pursue me so I could pay attention to the rest of the passage. Now go back and read verse 9d (if using the New Living Translation version). It’s, as they say, where the rubber meets the road.

We can do any- and everything we choose to do, but when it comes time to meet the Lord, he won’t care about what our intentions were. He’s gonna’ hold us accountable for what we did or didn’t do and it matters with every single thing we do. As you go about your day today, be intentional and pay attention. It doesn’t mean you won’t falter along the way, but your actions today will impact your life and others’ for a lifetime.

READ: Ecclesiastes 11; Luke 14:28-33

LISTEN: https://youtu.be/ASoVKTUBDj0?si=GLO6lr4jGOWP3uIG “Plans” by Rend Collective