Why don't I make every day an intentional day with Father God?
I get distracted.
I get lazy.
I'm too busy.
I just don't want to do what He is telling me to do.
I for whatever reason don't make Him my first love.
It amazes me that if I really take a day to be intentional with God and obedient to what the Holy Spirit is telling me to do, my day is 1,000 times better.
You would think I would make that my priority every day. But I don't.
I love how even if I have spent the last week half-heartedly seeking the Lord's presence, the minute i repent and ask for more of Him in my life, He comes. Our God is faithful.
Last Sunday was one of those intentional days…
It began with me waking up Sunday morning, knowing I was about to share about the Race with a couple of Sunday School classes at the church I attend whenever I am in Fort Smith with my family. Papa, I don't really want to do this because these people don't really know me. They know my dad, but are they really going to care about me? I am nervous.
I took a deep breath and asked the Holy Spirit to take over or all of this would be pointless. Thankfully, my friend, whom everyone at the church knows and loves, went around with me. Thanks Rach! 🙂 We walked into the first class full of elderly women. I expected to share for 2-3 minutes, thank them for their time, and head out. But Papa wanted to encourage me. All the women laid hands on me to pray for me, and they promised to pray for me every week while I was on the Race.
Wow God, I didn't really expect that. That was so sweet.
After I shared in the next classroom, one of the men came up to me and said, "Trena, we all wish we could say we had a daughter like you who is willing to do something like this for the Lord, so right now we want to adopt you and pray for you." I usually don't lose it, but i lost it. Tears rolled down my face as I was experiencing Father God's love for me. These people don't even know me, but they were Papa to me that day!
Every class after that was more than a blessing to me with their encouraging prayers! God even brought me $500 that day, but it wasn't about the money. It was about me feeling loved and supported by the Body of Christ.
Later that afternoon, I went downtown with a group from another church to the Salvation Army to help serve dinner.
Here's another opportunity for me to be intentional. I could simply serve the people food, or I could try to engage in conversation to share Jesus with them.
It was crowded. We were busy. It was easy for me to get caught up in serving food and not focus on the ones we were serving. I just wanted to serve, but I knew God wanted more. Finally, I tried to start up some conversations. It was harder than I imagined. Papa, what do I say? These people don't really want to chat.
Then I met Maria.
She lives at the Salvatioin Army. She is a believer and was interested in hearing all about the World Race. She told me she hopes to go on a mission trip some day. Lord, please let her go. She told me about her 32 year old son that she has been praying for the past 5 years. She is praying for his salvation. Papa, do whatever you need to do to bring Him to you.
We talked for about 20 minutes. As I was telling her goodbye she told me, "You are genuine. You will bring a lot of people to Jesus when you go next year. You will make an impact. Those people will be lucky to have you, especially the children."
To have a woman who had never met me before say that is the biggest compliment I could ever receive. She saw something in me that I didn't see myself. Father God saw something in me that I didn't see myself!
I easily could have missed that intentional day with Papa that was full of encouragement straight from Him. I wonder how many days I have missed in the past.
Papa, please increase my desire to have more and more intentional days with you. These days are the best days of my life!
This video is from the onething conference last year, and I have been listening to it nonstop! Listen to it if you get a chance and let Father God's presence overwhelm you!
