IN THE DESERT

TODD O'BRIEN

Lent has become one of my favorite seasons. Especially when the men of the parish begin to talk seriously about “taking on Exodus 90”. I decided to do Exodus 90 the night before it was supposed to start. I had some areas that I had been personally and spiritually struggling with for a number of years and I was looking for literally any excuse to get them out of my life for good. I had tried many things, but none had worked. About eight hours before kickoff I decided to go for it. I have been doing CrossFit for eight years and my friends will tell you that I have a weird affinity for punishment. So, ninety days “in the desert”, cold showers, no beer, no media, 18-20hr fasts, and double workouts on fast days? Sounded like a good time! … The Irish are curious people. But my time in Exodus was not without real challenge. There can be no lying to oneself in the desert. You are revealed. One morning during my daily prayer time, my life was changed.

[Exodus 90] has become the second most important spiritual experience of my life- right behind my reconversion after university.

I had a mantra that was core to me for years--I had t-shirts displaying it and a decal of it on my car. It was a shield with the words “FAITH FAMILY FREEDOM”. I wore that shirt so much my friends teased me about it. I always thought of the freedom part to mean, freedom in the traditional American sense. But on this morning in the desert, The Father very powerfully & clearly revealed to me that freedom was actually meant to be freedom from the thing that had been plaguing me. I felt like Paul being struck blind but in reverse. My eyes were fully opened. The Father had been foreshadowing this revelation for me for years. He had it in the works and was waiting for my heart to be ready for the change.

Exodus 90 has become a monument in my life. It has become the second most important spiritual experience of my life- right behind my reconversion after university. Throughout those 90 days I was revealed, reflected on that and took action on what I saw. My wife noticed the change and told me she was seeing me grow as a man, father and husband. That’s what we want to hear, right? I found some keys to Exodus 90 along the way as I embraced the process and leaned into the revelations I was receiving. I gave myself over to the disciplines 110%. I kept myself mentally motivated through self-talk. My staple was, “You know what your grandfather would call all this? He’d call it Tuesday. Harden up, Todd.” The biggest lie Satan whispers to men about Exodus 90 is: “You haven’t prepared for this level of spiritual discipline; you can’t do it”. That’s a lie. You can. The process is the practice! None of the twelve apostles had time to prepare to respond to Christ. It’s call and come. I answered the call and ran into that desert after Jesus. That journey changed my life. Before, I was weighed down and seeking freedom; afterward, I had been set free, found new depths in God the Father and, in the end, found more of my true self too. I put in the work, and the Lord accomplished it--All glory to God. The desert is calling. Walk hard…FAITH. FAMILY. FREEDOM.

Interested in Exodus 90? Visit exodus90.com to join over 30,000 men on the path to freedom.