An intention is a conscious decision to do a specific thing. When acted upon, an intention can lead to a result; when it remains only a thought, it produces no result. A person’s intentions can be either good or bad.
Action is required to turn an intention into reality. Faithful action requires urgency and a willingness to see the matter through to its intended result. Good intentions must be acted upon promptly and carried through to completion if they are to serve their purpose.
Through examples from the Bible, we will see the devastation caused by unfulfilled good intentions and the rewards that come from fulfilling them. We will learn that acting promptly and following through on our good intentions produces fruitfulness in a believer’s life.
Reuben’s Unaccomplished Intention
In the book of Genesis, we read the story of Joseph and his brothers. His brothers hated him because their father favored him. To make matters worse, Joseph shared dreams in which he would rule over them—something they did not take well.
One day, Joseph’s ten brothers went out to pasture their father’s flock, and Jacob sent Joseph to check on them and bring back word about how they were doing. But when they saw him from a distance, they conspired to kill him (Gen. 37:18).
“They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams’” (Gen. 37:19-20).
We see an evil intention taking shape among Joseph’s brothers. They were not merely entertaining a thought; they were determined to carry it out. They even made a plan to dispose of his body in “one of the pits” and prepared a cover story to tell their father that “a fierce animal has devoured him.” These men had thought through their intention before Joseph approached. Their hearts were driven by envy, and their goal was to silence Joseph’s dreams.
The story continues with Reuben intervening to deliver Joseph from their hands when he said, “Let us not kill him” (Gen. 37:21).
Now imagine the brothers pausing and asking Reuben, “What then do you suggest we do with him?” Reuben proposed an alternative—a good plan that would save Joseph’s life—and he prevailed.
“And Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him’ – that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it” (Gen. 37:22-24).
Pits, or cisterns, were dug as water reservoirs for people and their animals. Notice in verse 20 that the brothers planned to kill Joseph and “throw him into one of the pits.” The particular pit did not matter to them; their concern was simply to get rid of Joseph.
But Reuben specifically suggested that Joseph be cast “into this pit.” Although Scripture does not tell us why Reuben selected that particular pit, the text does tell us that it was empty and dry. That was important because if Joseph had been thrown into a pit filled with water, he would have drowned. In a dry pit, however, Joseph could remain alive until Reuben could pull him out and bring him back to his father.
Reuben really planned to return to the pit; he really planned to pull Joseph out; and he really planned to take him back to their father. Reuben’s good intention seemed genuine, and he intended to act on it.
However, he did not carry his good intention through to completion. He had prevented his brothers’ original murderous plan, but ultimately failed to return Joseph to their father.
The text does not tell us exactly why Reuben was absent, where he had gone, or how long he was away while Joseph remained in the pit. What it does tell us is that, when Reuben returned, Joseph was already gone. The story continues:
“Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes” (Genesis 37:29).
During Reuben’s absence, Judah proposed selling Joseph to the Ishmaelites instead, and the other brothers agreed. They pulled Joseph from the pit and sold him to the passing traders, who took him to Egypt, where he was eventually sold to Potiphar.
Reuben’s ultimate plan was to return to the pit, pull Joseph out, and take him to his father. But what happened instead? Joseph was pulled from the pit and sold as a slave. What went wrong?
In Reuben’s absence, an evil intention was devised and carried out. Joseph was now with the Ishmaelite traders rather than with his father. Reuben’s good intention had prevented one evil, but it had not been carried through to the result he intended.
Reuben left Joseph alone with the nine brothers who had already demonstrated murderous intent. This story teaches us that good intentions can prevent some harm, but unless they are faithfully followed through, they may fail to achieve the results we intended.
Reuben’s unfulfilled intention contributed to a deception that caused Jacob to grieve over Joseph’s supposed death for twenty-two years. The same deception appears to have left Reuben carrying a sense of guilt for those twenty-two years (Gen. 42:22).
The Lost Son’s Accomplished Intention
In the parable of the lost son, the younger son asked his father for his share of the inheritance and left for a distant country, where he wasted everything on reckless living. Eventually, he became so desperate that he longed to eat the pods the pigs fed on.
Fed up with his situation, he made a good and humble plan to return home in repentance and offer himself as a hired servant.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’” (Luke 15:17–19)
He acted promptly on his good intention and immediately began the journey back home.
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)
The lost son was determined to carry out his plan, and he followed it through to the end. When his father saw him from afar and had compassion on him, the son still confessed his sin, just as he had planned.
“And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son’” (Luke 15:21).
His father’s compassion did not stop him from asking for forgiveness. To him, unless his father heard his full confession, his intention had not been completed. His repentance was demonstrated not merely by what he intended to do but by what he actually did.
By acting promptly and following through on his intention to repent, he received the reward of forgiveness and a restored relationship with his father.
We know that our heavenly Father is merciful, gracious, and slow to anger (Ps. 145:8). His love never ceases, and his mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:22–23). But that should not stop us from promptly confessing our sins and turning away from them in true repentance.
Lessons for Believers
We can learn important lessons from Reuben, whose good intention went unfulfilled, and the lost son, who followed his good intention through to completion.
- Follow good intentions through to the end.
Reuben did not achieve his intended result because he did not follow his good intention through to the end. Although he had intervened to prevent Joseph from being killed, he did not return to the pit and rescue him as he had planned. The outcome was that Joseph was sold into slavery. When Joseph later spoke to his brothers, he did not mention Reuben’s good intention or distinguish his intervention from their actions. Instead, he recognized God’s sovereign purpose working through their evil intention.
Many years after Joseph was sold into slavery, God raised him to a position second only to Pharaoh in Egypt. During a severe famine in Canaan, Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt to buy food—and there they encountered Joseph, though they did not recognize him.
When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he addressed them collectively, without distinguishing between those who had participated in selling him and Reuben, who had intended to rescue him. Joseph said:
“I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.” (Gen. 45:4)
Again, after their father Jacob died, Joseph addressed his brothers collectively, saying:
“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Gen. 50:20).
Good intentions that are not followed through fail to produce the desired outcomes and therefore do not receive recognition.
On a much greater scale, God followed through with His plan to bless all the nations of the earth through salvation. In Genesis, He promised Abraham that through his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 22:18). Paul identified Christ as the promised “offspring” (Gal. 3:16).
God followed through with His plan by sending His only Son to save the world. God followed through with His plan by sending His only Son to save the world. He is fulfilling His purpose of blessing all the nations through salvation in Jesus Christ as people from every nation turn to Him.
Follow your good intentions through to completion so that they can accomplish the good you intend.
- Act promptly on good intentions
When the lost son made the decision to return home, he did not linger in the distant country, telling himself, “One day I will do it, but let me think about it a little longer.” His good intention was put into action without delay. He did not postpone repentance. He acted immediately and began the journey back to his father.
We have to act promptly on our good intentions in life. Many times, delayed action, even when an intention is eventually followed through, may fail to produce the intended benefit. The Psalmist says:
“I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.” (Ps. 119:60)
A timely response to good intentions cultivates a life of obedience and leads to fruitful living.
When the Lord calls you to do something, do it promptly. Act promptly on your intention to serve others. Do not merely intend to forgive others; forgive them. When God puts it on your heart to give, give promptly. Timely giving may meet an existing need that delayed action may not.
Act promptly on good intentions.
- Keep watch
We cannot know from the text exactly what Reuben expected would happen while he was away. But his absence left Joseph vulnerable to another plan—an evil one. Reuben did return to the pit to carry out his plan, but he was too late.
To achieve the intended result of his plan, Reuben needed to keep watch over Joseph until he could safely return him to their father. In his absence, his brothers’ evil intention prevailed.
Similarly, in our lives, the enemy’s schemes can prevail when we neglect spiritual watchfulness. This can happen when we stop responding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, when we stop feeding on God’s Word, or when we stop fellowshipping with other Christians.
Such spiritual carelessness gives temptation room to develop into sin. We need to remain watchful and be aware of the devil’s schemes (2 Cor. 2:11). For we know that our enemy prowls around like a lion, looking for opportunities to exploit us and accomplish his evil purposes (1 Pet. 5:8).
Do not be absent when it matters. Keep watch.
- Take sin seriously
Reuben convinced his brothers not to murder Joseph, but because their hearts still held hatred toward Joseph, they sold him as a slave and lied about it. Perhaps if Reuben had fully understood the seriousness of his brothers’ evil intentions, he would not have left Joseph alone in the pit.
We should never treat sin lightly. When the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, we should take it seriously enough to respond promptly with confession and follow through with repentance rather than underestimating its seriousness.
Scripture teaches us that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). It is only in Christ that we escape the wages of our sin. Delayed confrontation of sin can take us to places we never intended to go.
Take your sin seriously and bring it to Christ.
- No action produces the same result as no intention.
The person who has good intentions but never acts on them, and the person who has no intention at all, can end up with the same result—nothing.
Not acting on your good intentions is like a man who is interested in a beautiful woman and intends to ask her out one day. He never acts, even though his feelings grow stronger over time. Then, one day, the woman becomes engaged to another man. On the wedding day, the officiant asks, “If anyone present knows of any reason why this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.” The “good-intentioned” man stands and says, “I love the bride. I intended to tell her that, but I never got around to it.”
Do you think anyone at the wedding will take him seriously? Of course not. That man and the other men who never had an interest in the bride end up with the same result: they do not marry her. His intention remained only a thought because he never acted on it.
Some people hear the gospel and think positively about Jesus as a good teacher or prophet, while others outrightly reject the gospel and may even be antagonistic toward the faith. But whether people merely admire Jesus or actively reject Him, if they do not believe in Him, they will not receive salvation. Jesus will say to them, “Away from me.”
Intentions cannot accomplish what only faithful action can. We have all heard the old proverb that “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Good intentions that are never acted upon accomplish nothing.
The value of a good intention is demonstrated through faithful action.
Call to Timely Repentance
Scripture teaches that God does not despise a broken spirit and a contrite heart (Ps. 51:17). When we fall into sin, we should not delay in returning to Him in repentance. His mercy remains available to those who turn to Him.
We all fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). But when we do, we should not remain in unrepentance; we should rise again promptly. Scripture says:
“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again” (Prov. 24:16).
Hesitating to repent while continuing in sin only leaves us down longer and gives room for condemnation and discouragement to take hold of our lives.
When you hear the call of the gospel, do not harden your heart. Turn your intention to believe into the action of faith by confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in His resurrection (Rom. 10:9).
Good intentions are only the beginning. What matters is what we do with them. Turn your intentions into faithful action. Follow through faithfully. Let your obedience produce a fruitful Christian life.
Don’t delay—act faithfully!
Amen.
