This Invitational LifeSample

My Entire Self

An invitational life--one that is open, rooted, accessible, and brave--is a beautiful life. It is a life filled with deep connection to the heart of God, a life that knows what love and grace feel like. It is a life that promises you a front row seat to watch God at work in the people you’re relating to. Life with God is your Land of Promise.

What do you need to walk away from that is keeping you from living a life like that? What keeps you from taking the risks to align yourself with God’s heart? Is it fear of rejection? Fear of being misunderstood? Are you worried you won’t do it right or maybe that you’ll lose status? When was the last time you shared a meal with a nonbeliever? What was it like?

Did you notice ways God was speaking to you during that time, revealing questions to ask and ways to listen? And if it’s been a while since you’ve spent time with someone who is far from God, perhaps it’s time to leave the mountain.

Perhaps it's time to turn and see what God has put before you. Consider the faces and places that you are feeling called to. What do you have to offer them? Your time? Your energy? Your story? Your insights, giftedness, and friendship? Turn and see that God wants to put your one and only life on display so that you might invite others into the greatest story ever told.

You are closer than you think to living this invitational life. It’s in you. God hard-wired you for this. His heart beats for people, and so can yours. What is so incredible is that God instructs the people to “turn and set your journey.”

If you’re ever going to get to the Land of God’s Promise, you must set a plan. You must be intentional in your pursuit of this invitational life. It took the Hebrew people forty days to leave the mountain and get to the Promised Land. What if we spent the next forty days focused on risking ourselves to align with God’s heartbeat for humanity? How would we do that?

When you have a plan, your chances for success greatly increase. God tells the Hebrew people to leave the mountain, turn, set the journey, and go. Once you know the plan, get after it. Go for it. Risk it all. Keep it at the forefront of your mind. I have this quote by the great Jim Harbaugh in my office: “Attack each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.” It serves as motivation to keep going. I want to risk my entire self with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind when God says, “Go!”

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