The Daily Follower And A Good Life
Entering Into The Fullness of Our Inheritance In Christ
Dear #DailyFollower,
Introduction
It’s the last day in January 2025!
It feels like just yesterday when I wished you a Happy New Year! It’s been an eventful January for me, and every reader of this daily newsletter has been a big part of my eventful start to 2025. Thanks for being a big part of my journey.
This will be the 39th newsletter published from the desk of one #DailyFollower.
Interestingly, during my devotion this morning, the Holy Spirit impressed upon the Holy Spirit that I should start a series on the Book of Proverbs. I opted to start this series tomorrow to sync with the beginning of a new month.
I didn’t know that I would be starting this series in the 40th issue of the #DailyFollower newsletter.
I’m sentimental, and 40 holds a lot of meaning for me as a student of the Bible. I’m excited about the seeming coincidence and the fantastic things I believe God would work in us as we engage this series in Proverbs.
I don’t know what I’ll write about in this series, at least not yet. That’s my arrangement with the Holy Spirit, as He is the lead author, and I’m only an available pen (or typist) documenting His thoughts to God’s people.
In today’s letter, I lay a foundation for our Proverbs series by sharing thoughts about God’s intention for us and how to engage God to see His intention manifest in and through our lives.
God’s Intention For Us
Right from the first chapter of the first book of the Scriptures, we see God revealing His intention for us as He created us in His image and likeness.
He built us to operate as He operates in the Heavens on Earth (Genesis 1:26, EXB).
Then, at different times in the Scriptures, He provides additional context to His intention, like in Jeremiah 29:11, EXB, where Jeremiah writes:
11 I say this because I know ·what [the plans] I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have ·good plans for you [plans for your peace/security], not plans ·to hurt you [for your harm]. I will give you hope and a good future.
It (God’s intention for us) couldn’t be more precise.
He showed this intention by sending His Only Begotten Son to sacrifice Himself so that we all can access His promise of hope and a good future.
I dive into the Book of Proverbs series to show pictures of a good life, from King Solomon's and other writers' inspired words, and give some pointers on how daily followers can access this good life.
Before we get into it, it’s crucial to understand how to engage God to see His intentions manifest in and through our lives.
Entering Into the Manifestation of His Promise
A few days back, I wrote a three-part series about how we operate as God operates and see our declarations create realities in our lives (check out: We Are What We Think, We Are What We Say, and We Are What We Do).
Behind the principles I shared in these letters is a simple instruction from God that guides us in what we must do to see His intentions in and through our lives.
We find this instruction in Joshua 1:8, AMPC:
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.
This instruction captures the three things I wrote about in the series:
“…you shall meditate on it day and night…” - What We Think
“…shall not depart out of your mouth…“ - What We Say
“…you may observe and do…“ - What We Do
Here’s the formula (if I can use that term) for translating God’s intention for us from its finished form in the spiritual realm to tangible realities in our physical realm.
In the final part of God’s instruction to Joshua (and us), God says we are the ones who determine whether or not we have access to the good life (one with prosperity and good success) that He intends for us.
Recently, I noticed in meditation that the final part of Joshua 1:8 didn’t say God would make us prosperous and give us good success.
While it is ultimately God who works in us to access His promise of a life with prosperity and good success, there is a part we must play to make His promise our reality. When we do, “we will make our ways prosperous and then we will deal wisely and have good success”.
So, to enter into the manifestation of God’s promise for us, we must:
Meditate on [Think about] His Word day and night,
Keep His Word in our mouths [Speak His Words] at all times and
Observe and Do all His Word commands us to do.
The outcomes in our lives will make the world call us wise [one key subject matter in the book of Proverbs] as we bear the fruits of wisdom that only our three-way (think about, speak, and do) interaction with God’s Word can produce.
Bearing these fruits is evidence that we live in the reality of our promise of a good life.
Our deep dive into the Book of Proverbs provides insightful thoughts on what the good life looks like and how to live and sustain it.
Note: It’s crucial to balance this conversation early on; the good life is not void of trouble, trials and temptations. Jesus tells us that much in John 16:32-33, AMPC, but He says we should be of good cheer because He has won the victory over all life adversities on our behalf. God, speaking to the children of Israel (and us, by extension), said in Isaiah 43:1-3, AMPC, that when we go through challenging situations, He will be there with us. His victory and presence are the key components of the good life.
I can't wait to start the series!
Key Takeaways
God’s intention for us is the good life and has always been from the beginning.
Accessing God’s good life promise for us is entirely up to us. He’s done His part.
God’s victory and presence are the most critical components of the good life.
Conclusion
The daily follower has a promise of a good life from God, a life marked with the victory of Jesus, God’s presence and progressive growth towards becoming more like Jesus in character and experience, empowered to partner with God in His Kingdom Come mission.
To access this promise, we need wisdom that this world can give us, wisdom that enables us to obey God’s instruction in Joshua 1:8, AMPC completely; that’s why I’m starting the Proverbs series, which engages the book's primary author, a man famed as one of the wisest men who ever lived.
I'm really looking forward to learning from this series.
Yours faithfully,
John, a #DailyFollower.
If you want to make 2025 a year of deeper communion with God, you should consider subscribing to receive the #DailyFollower newsletter. Hit the button below to subscribe.
You likely know someone close to you who wants deeper communion with God in 2025. Please share this newsletter with them by hitting the button below.