Read
How are you arranging your days? This is where the rubber meets the road.
The masculine soul is designed to thrive in a particular habitat shaped by habits that are soul-strengthening. And all of this is intended to thrive in a particular relational model. Dallas Willard once said, “You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing deep contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday life with God.“ How do we become good soil, become deeply rooted, and cultivate a like-hearted relational model that allows us to thrive in cultures that often stand as enemies to our masculine soul? Let’s dig in.
Reflect
(Study guide pages 114-116)
- Describe the current habitat in which you live your daily life.
- Contrast this to the kind of habitat in which your masculine soul would most thrive.
- Looking over the last week, what habits are most predictable in your life? Consider which of these are strengthening your process of becoming wholehearted and which are not serving your commitment to growth and maturation.
- Draw a picture that represents your current relational model. Use your time, energy, and emotional resources as a way of measuring in whom you choose to invest yourself. Resist any value statements or temptations to edit; simply let your investment dictate what you draw. In whom and in what do you choose to invest your time, energy, and emotional resources?
- Now imagine traveling five years down the road: you have become a man who invests time, money, and emotional capacity in a way that is healthy and strong for your soul and in terms of stewardship of those people entrusted to your care. Draw a picture to represent this more wholehearted and mature relational model for your life. What do you observe in how these two pictures differ? What are some small action steps you can take toward the healthier model?
Scripture
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Proverbs 16:25 ESV
Pause
One of the foundational beliefs of this message is that God is the initiator and we are simply invited to respond and participate. In each session, you’re invited to choose a two-minute pause to let the message soak into your soul, let questions arise, and let God shine his light.
God, I invite you into this space to participate in stillness with you. Here and now I choose to recover my breath. I turn my attention and affection to you, God, and what you have prepared for me in this time. I choose two minutes to breathe and center in you.
Take Action
Read chapter 7, 8, and 9 of Becoming a King.
Complete session 5 from the Becoming a King Study Guide.
Further Excavation
- Watch the short film Godspeed: The Pace of Being Known. What does this film evoke in your heart? What is your current pace? Does it leave room for you and those under your care to be known?
