The Glory of God Is Man … Fully Alive

“This is the story of how I found my way back to the path of living fully alive after years of wandering,” writes Ken Davis in his new book Fully Alive. “I’m not a stranger; I’m not an expert; I’m a fellow traveler. And I fall down a lot. I recently told a friend I was a little disappointed that it had taken me this long to follow the stakes and find the joy I experience today. I ended my whining diatribe with a sigh: “All those wasted years!” My friend leaned across the table and said, ‘Hey, you have today.’ What a profound wake-up call. That is all any of us have. Today.”

Discover the adventure!

Davis continues: Discover the adventure hiding in the middle of the mundane! There’s a loud crunching sound as the sled gets under way, slowly at first. Then as it gains momentum, the crunch becomes sort of a swoosh. I blazed past my grandchildren. My heart was pounding, my face was numb, and endorphins raged through my bloodstream. Now at top speed, I screamed, “This absolutely rocks!” Then sky became ground and ground became sky. This repeated itself several times. Somehow I had lost control and cartwheeled at forty miles per hour into a snowbank. Snow was packed into every opening in my clothing. I was gasping for air, my wrist felt like it was broken, and a trickle of blood dripped from my nose. I remember shouting, “I’m alive!” As I wiped the blood from my nose and checked to see if my arms and legs were still attached, I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy. I thought, Now this is more than just being alive. This is living fully alive, senses tingling, nothing held back!

Live with expectancy!

Exchange the pain of unmet expectations for the joy of living with expectancy! I’ve been on this ride before. Many times I’ve stood kicking at one door, screaming because it wouldn’t open, while at the same time failing to see open doors of opportunity all around me—doors leading to thrilling new destinations and experiences. I’ve had tunnel vision. I have expected things to be the way they have always been and in doing so have put unnecessary limitations on what I could see and do. Your path to living fully alive may be at the back of the elevator, the side of the elevator, or even right through the roof. It may take more effort than you expect. You might even have to take the stairs. But it is never too late to open your eyes and look.

Get unstuck!

Take the first step that will lead to a new body, mind and spirit. You might be the one stuck and out of juice on the side of the road. You might be the one down in the dumps and ready to shift your life into neutral, or you could be the one who inspires the weary to keep on going. God says where two or more are gathered together, He comes to the meeting (Matt. 18:20, NIV). And if He’s there, the resources for creativity, spiritual growth, and physical endurance are also there in infinite abundance. We need each other. Start your physical program for health alone if you must, but quickly find like-minded friends to do it with you.

Kick guilt to the curb!

Experience real freedom. There is one piece of baggage that not only hinders but also kills: guilt. We could empty half the psychiatric wards in this country if we could eliminate guilt. Guilt is the byproduct of refusing to forget what is behind, allowing the past to stain our lives. I would rather be bedridden than guilt ridden. I have experienced both, and guilt is by far the worse pain. Hanging on to guilt is like staying in jail after you have been pardoned. Jesus took upon Himself all the guilt for every sin ever committed. He did it so that we might have a life better than we could ever imagine.

Drive a stake into the heart of everyday fears

All other fears bow down to “walking through the valley of the shadow of death.” In that valley it is difficult to stand, let alone press on. I have committed to read the Twenty-third Psalm every morning for the rest of my life. I want to read it before any fear can grab my attention. What confidence to know that my faith is in the only One who conquered death and gave me that same power to live my life.

 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 (NIV)

Tap into power!

Tap into a power that will protect you whether you’re crawling through the valley or standing on the mountain top! In the song “I Wanna Feel Something,” Trace Adkins sings of a yearning for something “that moves me, that proves to me I’m still alive.” A powerful line in Switchfoot’s song “Awakening” says, “I wanna know that my heart’s still beating.” Two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul weighed in on the matter of living fully alive. He expressed his desire to live to the greatest extreme possible. His words are an anchor of inspiration to me. He said, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10, NIV). Whoa! What could be more out there, more exciting and fulfilling, than experiencing the same kind of power that raised Christ from the dead?

Soar!

Don’t live a life of quiet desperation! If you look carefully, you will find people all around you who show few signs of life. They haven’t flat-lined yet, but they stopped singing long ago. Rarely do their hearts race in excitement over the possibilities held by a new day. They lurch through the darkness like zombies, clinging to memories of what life used to be. But deep inside they long to live again. Have you lost the joy of your salvation? Do you want to mount up like an eagle and soar once again? Today at age sixty-five my life is as fulfilling, exciting, and rewarding as any time I can remember.

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