I agreed to do Exodus the first time because I realized in myself, regardless of the kind of things that were intimidating about it, that I needed that in my life. I needed a more dedicated time of prayer. I needed to address some of these unhealthy attachments that I had to my phone or whatever it was that were taking me away from my vocation as a husband and a father.
In Exodus we talk a lot about what’s your “why”. So when I was tasked with really thinking about that for the first time, I realized really quickly that it was that . . . how do I become holy in my vocation as a father? This program is just one way that’s going to help me to strip away some of those unhealthy attachments.
I remember thinking, for example, with the examen at night; going over your day and thinking about it and praying about it and realizing, why can’t I get that? What is the issue?
That’s maybe a five to ten minute thing, but it was really helpful to realize . . .yeah, I can’t do this by myself. This isn’t about me being a macho man and trying to get all the things done because I can do it. It’s about reliance on God. And the cool thing about Exodus is, that’s what it trains you to realize.
This isn’t about checking all these boxes. It’s about realizing that you desperately need God. These things are going to actually help you, even though you stumble along the way to grow in that relationship.
To a man who’s on a fence about Exodus, which there are a lot probably . . I would say just do it. Here’s why. I think people get in their minds about Exodus that if I can’t do it perfectly, I’m not going to do it at all. And I say that’s not true. That’s not the way you should even think about it. There are guys that I have gone through this with and they’ve said, “you know, man, I’ve messed it up and I feel like I’ve let you down and I feel like I’ve let my brothers down.”
I say, “no man, what would you probably be doing during these 90 days if you weren’t doing Exodus 90? Probably not half of this stuff. I mean, I’m just assuming if you’re anything like me, you’re probably not doing some of these rigorous asceticisms or taking your prayer life seriously.”
And so I just say, do it.
If you mess up, your brothers are there to encourage you to get back on the horse. And don’t make this more complicated than it has to be.
You can start Exodus 90 today:
