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Grace takes you from where you are in your walk with God, to where He wants you to be. And it is always His desire to lift you up in life, draw you closer to Him in love and intimate fellowship, to meet your every need.
King David, having seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, describes it all, as he prays, Both riches and honor come from you, O Lord, and you reign over all. In your hand is power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. [1 Chronicles 29:12]
God is the source of all that is good, and in the new covenant of grace, the dispensation that is in operation now, the key to appropriating what comes from God, lies in knowing the grace of Lord Jesus Christ, what He has accomplished on Calvary. For, what He became on the Cross, you need no longer be, in your life. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty may become rich. [2 Corinthians 8:9]
Riches from God :
God has richly provided all things for your enjoyment, so that you may find pleasure in it. [1 Timothy 6:17] But godly pleasures are always connected to His eternal purposes being worked out in your life; they are never transient, but are true riches. And having money and possessions gained lawfully and honestly is never wrong. But it is putting your trust in your earthly possessions at the expense of your relationship with God, is what the word of God cautions against.
It is then that even good things can become bad. Therefore, to seek His kingdom first is of utmost importance, and all other things will be added unto you. It is the promise of God. And there is a procedure to it, by which you can experience a life that is prosperous and good, the God kind of life.
Seeing good days – the procedure from God :
For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. [1 Peter 3:10,11] It is the plan and procedure of God, and there is a reason to it. The truth that lays the foundation to it all is given in the verse previous to the passage above, that declares You are called to inherit a blessing. [vs 9]
Life and good days are His desire for you :
God’s plans for you are always good. You may be thinking even now, in the midst of your troubling circumstances, that your good days are behind you, and there is no future good that awaits you. But His grace and mercy endures forever, and is new every morning. You are alive today, all by His grace, a grace that is new.
And, today is the day of salvation, declares the promised word of God to you. Salvation is the sum total of all the blessings of God, and you can indeed make a new start even today. Good days will come yet again !
Good days’ as God defines it :
God desires that you see good days and have a good life as you live here in this world. But it is His word that ought to define the nature of the ‘good life’. God’s word is truth and life. It is a fight of faith that the Bible talks about, and God Himself promises to guard what has been entrusted to Him. He will keep you from falling away from your faith, as you put your trust in Him.
But some people, who may call themselves Christians even, view life itself to be a fight. And they will not be happy in life, unless they are picking a fight with someone! Even if you are quiet, they will start a quarrel with you !. Some view life to be a race, where they have to be continually pulling someone down, to get to the top. They will refer to life as a rat race, not realizing that then if they win it, they still remain a rat! And, however fast they try to travel on the race track of life, the race as they perceive it to be, there will always be someone traveling on the road ahead of them.
It will leave them frustrated and unfulfilled at the end of their lives. But, the race in God’s sight is the race that He has uniquely marked out for each child of His. It is singular and divinely appointed for you to run with your eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the author and finisher of your faith, that you may receive a crown of righteousness.
A right understanding and discernment of the truth of God’s word is vitally important therefore, even as Moses instructs the people of Israel .
Choosing what is truly ‘life’ :
‘I have set before you today, life and good, death and evil’. [Deuteronomy 30:15] And he continues further on, I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live. [vs 19]
Living in a fallen world that is under the sway of the evil one, the responsibility lies with you. Even this day the choice lies before you, to make the right and godly choice. For, God never forces His good and perfect will on anyone. And when you make the right choice.
He Himself is your life :
Moses goes on to describe the good life that God desires for you, That you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days. [vs 20]
This is the God kind of life that He desires to bless you with. It is why the apostle Paul says triumphantly, I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. [Galatians 2:22] And so, when the apostle Peter talks about loving or desiring life and seeing good days, it all boils down very simply but profoundly to, loving God for He Himself is your life ! It is His joy that becomes your strength, as you make the willing choice, to choose His will, His desires.
Godly desires in you – when God’s desires become yours :
Desires that arise in any person, even you and I, may not always be godly; they can very often be twisted, for the heart is extremely deceitful. God has created you to be in His image with a free will of your own. He will never tamper with, or resort to manipulation with the right that He has blessed you with. And when this freedom is abused it can lead to making wrong choices that will initially seem attractive, but will ultimately lead to bondage and destruction in your life.
But, to see good days, your desires need to be godly, for everything that is good comes only from the hand of the good God, who loves you with an everlasting love.
How does this become possible ?
Desiring life is your desire and love for God, is what we have seen. And the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, the Eternal Word has said, ‘My words are spirit, and they are life…’ [John 6:63] And, it all connects together to show you the path of godly desires being birthed within you , Godly desires come in you, when God’s desires become yours’ through His word.
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do, for His good pleasure [Philippians 2:13]
God’s word is God’s will. Therefore, any desire that is birthed through God’s word is a godly desire. Thus the divine equation, the path to godly desires in you is :
To love life is to love God, & To love God is to love His word.
You are thus led to a place where God’s desires are birthed in you through His will for you that is written in His word. Therefore you will be able to declare with conviction, the words of the psalmist, ‘I delight to do your will, O Lord, for it is written of me in your word’.
Otherwise by default, it is a love of the world and its desires that are passing away, which will find a place in your life. It is by loving His word that wrong desires in you, can be uprooted or kept at bay.
And you are in a very advantageous position when you are in the place of God’s desires becoming yours, for His plans, His thoughts and His will for you, your family, your work, your church are all unimaginably greater and better.
‘It is My desire …’ :
It is the Savior’s amazing prayer –His desire is to be with you and I! ‘Father, I desire that they also whom you gave me may be with me where I am, that they may behold My glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world’. [John 17:24]
And will not the Father grant the desire of His Beloved Son? Most surely, He will. Today therefore, He is living in you – Christ in you is the hope of glory. And He is preparing a glorious mansion for you in heaven, because one day He desires to live with you there !
But He has plans and purposes for you to accomplish here now. Your mansion is still under construction; and you are also still under construction ! The Lord is continually doing His work of grace in you, leading to one ultimate purpose, His desire –that you should be with Him forever and ever, through all eternity! It is the glorious truth that brings comfort to us, when our loved ones go to be with the Lord. We are all going to be together with the Lord for all eternity !
How does ‘seeing good days’ practically come about ?
Loving life and seeing good days happens in your life, even as you follow the procedure laid out in God’s word – Let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. [1 Peter 3:10]
The responsibility of correcting your tongue, to speak what is in line with the word of God, lies with you. It is to speak the good word that He has spoken in His word. And anything that is contrary to God’s word is not a good word, however harmless it may seem to be.
It is the design of God. He created all things by speaking the word, and He sustains it all by His word. Therefore, it is His word that you speak out, that will change your world, to bring forth what is needed, and uproot what is not needed in your life.
Avoiding polluting talk :
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers. [Ephesians 4:29]
The tongue has the power of life and death. Therefore, the words that you speak can either edify or pollute those around you. And, it is not just abusive, unclean words, but any word that does not line up with the truth of God’s word can also harm you, and needs to be avoided. This is what the apostle Paul warns, in the verse above. For, words can be poisonous and deadly, polluting the atmosphere, and even if you are not speaking it, just being in a place where such words are spoken, can even without your knowledge affect you negatively.
It is similar to the danger of passive smoking, when the harmful effects of it rubs off on you, all because you were in a place where people around you were smoking. It is also how an innocent child is corrupted by the wrong words of aggression or anger spoken in its hearing by parents who are immersed in their own selfish conflict, and cause indelible harm in the mind of the small child. And the effect of it will be shockingly visible to the same parents, only when the child grows up to mouth the same words !
Speaking the godly good word :
In the hearing of others, it is words that encourage and build people up, that you are called to speak, not what will tear them down. It applies even to words that you speak to yourself, about yourself ! Encourage and strengthen yourself in the Lord, instead of needlessly chastising yourself.
Expect good things to happen in your life. For, you have a good God who desires to fill your life with good things. It comes, not as you speak a general good word, but a word that come from the good God. For, heaven and earth may pass away, but His word will never pass away. It will not return void, but will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent.
He satisfies your mouth with good things, your necessities, says the amplified Bible… [Psalm 103:5] Therefore, He gives you good days, by putting in your mouth the good word from Him that you need to speak in order to see your life renewed like an eagles. It is His word that renews your spirit, soul and body.
May God’s word be in your mouth :
What happened to the prophet Jeremiah, as the call of God was manifested in His life illustrates what God can do even in you, so that you may see good days, to fulfill His call upon you. God touched Jeremiah’s mouth saying :
Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have this day, set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out, and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant. [Jeremiah 1:9]
It happened in Isaiah’s life, as he stood forlorn and dejected, looking at the empty throne of the king who had just died, and so aware of his unclean lips, and the unclean people around him. The Angel of the Lord appeared to touch his mouth with tongs of fire to cleanse and sanctify him. And Isaiah was transformed, becoming the prophet of good news, the good days that were coming when the Messiah would be born, the Servant King who would redeem them through the Cross !
His word in your mouth is authority :
Jeremiah’s authority is yours too today. You have the authority to permit what you need, and prohibit what you do not need in your life. Therefore, by your proclamation of God’s word in faith and authority, all that has not been planted by the Father can be uprooted, to plant in your life the goodness of God instead.
God’s word can never ever fail. Joshua acknowledged it after seeing good days that came by every promise of God coming to pass. [Joshuva 23:14] Today, God wants you to see good days too. Speak therefore, the good word of God that He gives to you.
And because He says you can :
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For, He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’. So we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’ [Hebrews 13:5,6]
The passage above teaches an invaluable truth that needs to be learnt, understood and practiced, in order for it to bear fruit. You stand on and proclaim the word the Almighty God has spoken to you, that He will never leave you, and uproot the fear in you by boldly proclaiming His word, that He is your helper, and man can do nothing against you. Planting and uprooting is all done by speaking the word that changes your world, in order that good days may come. God’s word in your mouth has the same power and authority, as it has when God says it Himself.
‘Oh, that my words were recorded’ :
They are the passionate words from the mouth of a man in the midst of unbearable tragedy and loss, but yet chose not give up, as he focused on his living Redeemer; and so should you and I be.
‘Oh that my words were written; Oh that my they are inscribed in a book; that they are engraved on a rock with an iron pen and lead forever’. [Job 19:23,24] They are words of trust and faith from the mouth of Job in the midst of pain and suffering, leading to the great and ultimate truth.
‘I know, that my Redeemer lives !’ :
For I know that my Redeemer lives; and He shall stand at last on the earth, And after my skin is destroyed, this I know; that in my flesh I shall see God. [vs 25,26] Job took a stand of faith to proclaim ‘I know my Redeemer lives, and I will see Him with my own eyes’. And it was how his life ended !
But now my eye sees you :
Job saw the good work of the Living Redeemer in his life. The Redeemer who intervened to give him good days; and in humble acknowledgement he says, ‘I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear. But now my eye sees you’. [Job 42:5]
He indeed saw good days, as the Lord blessed his latter days more than his beginning. He saw his children and grand children for four generations, and died, old and full of days ! Seeing, by saying what God has already said is the powerful truth that you and I can see in the life of Job.
What do you want to see ?
It depends on what you say. And what you say, may it depend on what God has already said in His word. May God plant this truth in your heart, and in your mouth, so that you may be blessed to see good days, that you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joyful thanksgiving.
Your Redeemer lives :
May this truth be sealed in your heart Your Redeemer lives, the One who redeems your life from the pit, to satisfy your mouth with good things, to crown you with love and compassion, that your youth may be renewed like that of the eagle.
Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, died and rose again, to live forevermore. He is now the Lamb upon the throne, reigning in majesty. You will indeed surely see with your own eyes, the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living !!
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
