Choosing With Intention by Graham Cooke

Everything about the Christ life within is full of intention. The purpose of God is to bring many sons into glory. We are to be made in His image. We are overcomers learning to become more than conquerors. We are citizens of Heaven here on earth. We are the Bride of Christ; the brother of Jesus; sons of God; servants of the Lord; good soldiers and heirs of His Presence. Everything in the Kingdom is connected to an Intentional Identity.

In every situation of life we are learning to choose the intention of God towards us in that moment. Relationship with God is never one-dimensional. It is a multi-dimensional reality in His great heart for us. To make us like Him He must elevate us to His eternal reality in the Spirit. In this life we have a destiny to be seated with Christ in Heavenly places, far above all principalities and powers.

We can, of course, choose a lower magnitude of life and response. We can elect to live under something rather than above it. We can choose to be a victim rather than a warrior. We may prefer to be an employee rather than an heir (Luke 15:19). We can cut down our dreams to manageable proportions. God will have none of this. He is faithful, powerful and intentional about how He sees us. To live the life that only he can create for us we must first, of necessity, accept His vision for us. We must step into the place of intention when we agree with the identity that He prefers.

When we take the road we must journey with the same intention as the Father. Every situation is concerned with Abiding. Learning to stay, rest and swell from a place of agreement and alignment. Are your current choices in life coming from an understanding of your lot in this world or are they arising out of a place of agreement regarding your place in the Kingdom?

Every situation is useful to us. Each circumstance provokes our identity to affirm God’s kind intention. What the Father shows you specifically about Himself becomes implicit for you; i.e., it is what He is declaring He will always be for you in all your circumstances. When the Lord showed me His kindness it overwhelmed my mind and heart. I began to learn that He desired me to become kindness, not just to experience it. Kindness became the heart of His agenda for me in every situation. It became my testimony. My identity received an upgrade. The implicit nature of God in my circumstances became the explicit expression of my behavior towards others. We choose with intention.

Focus on the experience of His nature towards you. What is it that He wants to be for you now? He will always reveal His intention. He is continuously fixed on His outcome for you. He is choosing to make you like Him. Therefore, He allows in His wisdom what He could easily prevent by His power. He chooses our situations to empower us to rise up in His intentional identity in us and through us. His intention becomes our choice. His intention is our identity. Our choosing, then, is much more powerful than we can imagine.

We do not choose our circumstances. We choose God’s intention. We allow the will of God to elevate our hearts into a place of identity. Intention triumphs over doubt, fear and angst. Identity exalts our response to the required level for that particular circumstance. Life in the Spirit flows from the internal Presence to the external circumstance.

The Kingdom always provides an experience for what we believe. In abiding we are choosing to stay in His intention, so that we continue to believe, until we receive the experience.

When Israel heard that giants lived in Canaan, they wanted to choose to return to Egypt. God’s intention is that we are defined by the opposition which is against us. Giants therefore are designed to make us bigger, bolder and better. A giant tells us who we are going to become next in the intentionality of God. There has to be at least one giant in your future. Ordinary problems build a stairway from this level to the next. All problems are an issue of height. They create a lift; a spring in our step, a learning to rise up in all things.

A giant is an elevator that can take us up several levels. From shepherd boy to being at the court of the King, from teenage stone thrower to becoming King. We are seldom ready for real elevation because we think too little of ourselves. When we believe in God’s intentions towards us then our choices take us to the appropriate level of significance.