The Divine Operating System
16 Vital Components for Optimizing Your Daily Christian Life
Many honest believers find themselves caught in a disheartening cycle—they have moments of genuine connection with God on Sunday, only to have their spiritual high fade in the grind of Monday morning and beyond. They understand that faith is meant to be more than a weekly checklist, but they're not sure how to transition from a weekend ritual to a daily reality.
Can you relate? Do you ever feel like you're sleepwalking through your spiritual life, going through the rituals of religion but yearning for something deeper, richer, and more transformative? Do you want to feel God's presence and power in your workplace, home, relationships, and quiet moments?
What if I told you that the vibrant, happy Christian life you want is a 24/7 lifestyle? Isn’t following Jesus about every moment of every day, and not just Sunday mornings?
Do you desire to feel God's presence and power not only in the pews but also in your workplace, home, relationships, and quiet moments alone?
If so, I have wonderful news for you: that kind of life is not only doable, but it is also what you were designed for! God never intended that your relationship with Him be limited to Sundays. He longs to walk with you every day, to give the commonplace meaning and the ordinary eternal importance. He desires to pour His strength into your weaknesses, His wisdom into your decisions, and His calm into your tension and strain. In a nutshell, He wants to make His home in the midst of your chaotic, busy, and wonderful existence.
But here's the catch: like any meaningful connection, a 24/7 faith doesn't arise by chance. It necessitates intention, commitment, and a willingness to act in ways that depart from the norm. It entails breaking out of the default habit of compartmentalization (the sacred on Sunday and the secular the rest of the week) and learning to view all of life through the prism of God's love and purpose. It entails stepping outside of your spiritual comfort zone and developing new habits and rhythms that allow God to act in and through you on a regular basis.
In other words, if you want your faith to be more than a weekend pastime, you need structure. A system. A collection of tried-and-true components that will help you stay anchored and grounded in Christ amidst the stresses and distractions of everyday life. You require, as I like to call it, a "Divine Operating System."
Just like your smartphone or laptop relies on an underlying operating system to function effectively and efficiently, your Christian life requires a solid foundation of spiritual habits, mindsets, and disciplines to keep you connected to the Source and equipped for Kingdom living. And that is exactly what this 50-week email series is intended to provide.
Over the years, through my own walk with Jesus and shepherding others in their faith, I've identified 16 critical components that I feel are essential for building a healthy, daily connection with God. These elements are not a magic formula or a rigid checklist, but rather a collection of tools and rhythms that, when used consistently, produce fruitful soil for the Holy Spirit to work in and through you in powerful ways.
We'll look at basic components like prayer, wisdom, faith, and hope, which are the cornerstones of every good spiritual life. But we'll also look at other key but frequently ignored components, such as patience, courage, limits, and margin—mindsets and practices that are essential for aligning our hearts and lives with God's plans. Each email will focus on one major component of the Divine Operating System, including biblical insights, practical recommendations, and reflection questions to help you start adopting these principles in your own life.First, I will establish the groundwork for a personal, true relationship with God by investigating the power of prayer, the quest of wisdom, the daring of faith, and the anchor of hope. You'll learn how to develop a conversational prayer life, connect your perspective with God's truth, strengthen your trust muscles, and live with confident anticipation in any situation.
Next, I'll discuss how to embody Christ's heart and character in your daily attitudes and interactions. You'll discover how to love selflessly, extend extreme grace, live in God's presence, and bravely embrace your Kingdom calling and identity.
Next, I will work to prepare you to negotiate life's challenges and govern your inner world in a way that keeps you grounded in God's peace and purpose. We'll look at the spiritual discipline of patience, the transforming power of refreshing your mind, the freedom that comes from setting healthy boundaries, and the importance of carving out time for rest and refreshment.
Finally, I will challenge you to live visibly as a witness and agent of God's kingdom in your respective domains of influence. You'll learn how to use your words with wisdom and grace, serve others with passion and purpose, create a generous lifestyle, and eventually leave a legacy that draws people to Jesus and advances His message over the world.
No matter where you are in your faith journey, I pray that the Divine Operating System will offer you with a practical, empowering framework to help you live the full, rich life that Jesus promised. As you begin to implement these 16 critical components, you will notice a more consistent connection with God, a more tangible experience of His presence, and a more intentional partnership with Him in all aspects of your life. Most importantly, you'll discover the excitement and adventure of an "always on" faith—one that extends beyond Sunday mornings to schoolrooms and boardrooms, family rooms and waiting rooms, street corners, and social media feeds.
Will the journey to optimization be easy? Not always. Will you perform it perfectly? Definitely not. But if you lean into God's grace and commit to engaging the critical components bit by bit, day by day, you'll look back a year later and marvel at the masterpiece He's creating with your one, precious life. You'll learn how the Divine Operating System has evolved from a collection of abstract concepts to the very heartbeat of your everyday life, helping you to live, love, and lead like Jesus in a world starving for His presence.
So take a deep breath, silence the voice that tells you you aren't technical enough for a Divine OS, and prepare to start on an exciting faith upgrade. As your Divine Operating System spiritual software engineer (and biggest fan), I'll be here to guide you through the process, cheer you on, and keep pointing you back to the One whose love makes it all possible.
Let us dive in together and commit to exploring the power and possibility of living a life in constant connection with the Source. Your Divine Operating System is about to receive a huge update, and I couldn't be more pleased to watch the transition! (See you in a few days for the first newsletter to introduce the first of a series of 16 major components explained over the following weeks.)
—Iann Schonken
[[Note: Excerpted from, The Divine Operating System: 16 Vital Components for Optimizing Your Daily Christian Life, a brand new book by Iann Schonken, released in June 2024.]]