If you’re anything like me, you might feel like the New Year has crept up on you faster than you expected. I admit that I usually feel that way every year. It seems like Christmas is so far away, and in an instant, it’s gone. I don’t know if you realize this, but that doesn’t just happen. Each day, each week, every month never lasts as long as we think it does. This Thursday will usher in 2026. Are you ready? Have you thought about how you might want things to be different in 2026? No, I’m not talking about making a resolution that will last a few days, maybe a week. I’m not even talking about changing a particular behavior, per se. What I’m talking about is being more intentional next year.
In Luke 9:51, we read, “When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set his face to go to Jerusalem.” The crucifixion wasn’t an afterthought. Jesus knew why He came and what would happen when He arrived in Jerusalem for the last time. How did Jesus react to the coming crucifixion? When the time came, “He set His face to go to Jerusalem.” He lived from that moment on, intentionally focusing on what His Father had called Him to accomplish. He didn’t stop living, He didn’t stop teaching, He didn’t stop performing miracles. However, He also stopped being so cryptic about the coming future God had planned for Him.
When I say Jesus started living more intentionally, I don’t mean He wasn’t before; I mean His intentions became more focused. The definition of Intentional is ‘done by design.’ It’s not an action that happens on its own. When you bake a cake, it rises because you ‘intentionally’ added the right ingredients to make it rise. Yes, the ingredients were what made it rise, but without adding the correct ingredients, it would never have happened. A more critical question for our discussion here might be, why did you add those rising ingredients? Of course, the answer is because you wanted the cake to rise!
Are there things you would like to accomplish this year? They will never happen unless you live intentionally. Take time at the beginning of this New Year to think about what you would like to accomplish. Then break those goals down into manageable tasks. Consider adding these items to your calendar as a reminder of what you’re working toward!
And let me be so bold as to make one suggestion. Dream Big! Don’t make your goals too temporal. Anyone can lose weight or get in better shape. Most of us, with a bit of discipline, can find better control over our finances. I want you to think about more eternal things. Plan on talking to a friend about Jesus once a week (at a minimum). Invite a neighbor to church once a month (it takes more than one invite to get someone to come). Plan to attend church every week (even when you’re on vacation). Plan on saying an encouraging word to someone at every church gathering. On the one hand, these are small things. On the other hand, they are powerful things. But no matter how you view them, they will never happen without you planning to do them – ‘intentionally.’