This is the Main Event: Discovering the Life You Long for in the Life You Have

by Joshua Luke Smith

What if the life we long for isn’t elsewhere but rather right here, waiting to be discovered?

Joshua Luke Smith believes the greatest lie facing our generation is that the life we long for lies beyond the life that we have. We so easily learn to disdain the inconveniences, interruptions and messy mundane that infuses our everyday. But the real transformation happens when we look at our life as it is and dare to This is the main event.

With depth, wisdom and storytelling, This Is the Main Event is your invitation to awaken to the sacred in your ordinary life. As Joshua claims, the extraordinary life is simply the one in which we practice presence – to ourselves, to others, to God. Every moment becomes meaningful when you recognise the God who meets you in it – a holy encounter accessed in the everyday.

Whether you’re packing lunches, paying bills, headed to the office, a hospital or a recovery meeting, this is a book to help you receive the greatest gift you already have and to practice your own aliveness in your actual life.

Ebury The Home Of Christian Living. Drawing on the deep roots of Christianity to cultivate curious minds and inspire faith-informed growth.

Genres: Nonfiction

269 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 30, 2026

Reviews

[Lauren]

Everyone must read this book. Joshua Luke Smith’s words drip with beauty and raw authenticity. I teared up many times throughout the book at JLS’s gift of speaking directly to universal and yet unique human experiences and how God meets us in them all. A poetic and earthy book on how God is moving in our ordinary lives.

[Heather]

I confess, as a former zealous missionary turned deconstructed evangelical, I am no longer a lover of Christian/Spiritual non-fiction. There are, however, a few exceptions and this is one of them. Joshua Luke Smith is the friend we all need in this sad, horror laden world. His words ring true. He does not put himself above others and preach from pulpit as someone who appears to have it all figured out. He leans across the dinner table and shares his pondering and experience with you, inviting you to mull them over and - were you really next to him - it feels as though he’d welcome your musings in return.

The message here is in some ways so simple that it can really only hit home when someone takes the time to build on and illustrate it for you. It is beautiful poetry mixed with deep spiritual insight sprinkled with a little millennial banter for good measure. If you like Marilynn Robinson and Mary Oliver as I do, I believe you will enjoy This is the Main Event.

I very much look forward to re-reading, underlining and filling the notes with margins.

[Boaz Rees]

What a way to herald in my 200th Goodreads book.

This book is a warm embrace; love pours out of the pages into your pores. You can hear Joshua's voice, the words he has paid for in suffering and hardship, in careful craft and many prayers. This book is also an encouraging tap on the bum—keep going, look around you, look up.

Joshua Luke Smith frames his big idea 'to discover the life you long for in the life you have' with three central movements: Lamentation, Consecration, Adoration and within these three movements he writes.

The words are so beautiful, they evoke such emotion. They make you feel. I love the last page of the book, the about the Author one that is so easily overlooked where it says that Joshua 'loves helping people find language for their lives.' For me that perfectly puts what it is to write, to put ideas on a page in beautiful ways. It is to help people find a language for their lives that remains unexpressed within them. That Eureka moment where something I have thought and felt has been given words and validated!

I had so many of those moments throughout this book. I have drenched the book with notes and highlights, scrawlings and underlinings. There are so many places my mind went throughout.
It was an utter joy to read! A delight! It is a book I'm sure I will re-visit many times. It is perfectly imperfect—there are certain exegetical conclusions I disagree with, phrases a little too mystical by me and yet I love that! It challenges me, it makes me question why.

Books like this foster books from others as they are inspired and affirmed. What a beautiful legacy to leave.




Some special words I loved either written by the author or quoted were:

My paraphrase 'grace makes broken things repairable.'

'God is present in the inconveniences and contradictions; and more often than not, he comes to us dressed in them.'

'A life without limits only leads is to miss out on the one we're actually living.'

'Its better to live naked on truth than clothed in fantasy.'—Brennan Manning

'Lamentation is the blessing we don't want but we all need.'

'Either our suffering disproves that there is a God who is with us, or it magnifies our need for it all to be true.'

'Pain that is not transformed gets transmitted'

'Today I have done nothing, but much has been done within me.'

'God comes to you disguised as your life.' -Paula D'arcy

'A consecrated life is a transformed, renewed and recreated life.'

'Routine is disguised as ritual'

'A consecrated life is a captivated life, a life that beholds rather than consumes, that pays attention, makes eye contact, and offers the ministry of presence as the most valuable offering. Perhaps the opposite of a consecrated life is a distracted one, busy with many things, rushing around opening and closing cupboard doors, working to the bone, too impatient and frustrated to see that God sits on the sofa at rest in the home.'

'I am not a tool in the belt of a workman but a picture in the wallet of my Father.'

'May we stay a little longer, listen a little deeper and sink even further into the wonderful mystery of our life.'

'The good news is you came a long way. The bad news is, you went the wrong way.'- J. Cole paraphrase

'It will cost you who you don't want to be.'

'The question seems to be less of "if" we are broken and more of "how" we are broken—the people I want to be like most have a limp. Like Jacob, they've found something worth fighting for and embody a brokeness that cannot be bandaged, but like bread that is blessed, broken, and shared their confession of continuing and their dependency upon grace fill and inspire me.'

'He [Jesus] knew the only way to live an abundant life was by giving it away—to hand it over piece by piece: the minutes, the talents, the attention, the love. To let the fields of your life be tilled by the needs of others. To hold your life open.'

'That is the great aim of the spiritual life, to retain our appetite.'

'All is grace.'

'We are free when we forget ourselves.'

'How you do anything is how you do everything.'

'Be encouraged. You might already be a saint. Raise your hands when you feel the Spirit move, even if you're the only one. Compliment a strangers outfit. Linger in conversations. Follow your curiosity and ask too many questions. Don't apologize for your passion; your life doesn't need a disclaimer. Love on the edge of tears. Read poetry aloud in the park and pray your grace loudly in public. Fall on your knees in worship when your children ask you to play. Go for the hug instead of the handshake. Pop the champagne ok a Tuesday; you'll find something to celebrate when you raise your glass. Your life is a defense against despair, an unlikely ordinary apologetic; you are the ladder upon which angels climb down to the roadside from heaven. And in all of this, let your living become and act of adoration—the small unpolished gesture that lifts your eyes from yourself and return your heart to the One who has always afored you first.'

'Lets live our whole life with our soul full of wonder.'

'So, we lament what is lost, we consecrate what we have, and we adore the One who takes it all—the blurriness and the brilliance, the interruptions and the invitations—and makes it into the main event. This life, your life, my life: the world to which we belong, the life we have always longed for, hidden in the life we have.'

[Paul Y]

I have not finished a book in such a timely manner, nor teared up so often per chapter in any book as I did here. Joshua doesn’t talk from a high horse or use high language to get his points across, but speaks from the gift as a poet and the real, difficult experiences of his life.

His main focus throughout the book is about finding our longing for God in the midst of whatever life we’re currently living, and boy he does this well. With many stories of both encouragement and his failures, he pulls from the well of the authors, mystics and guides that came before him and beautifully weaves the transcendent beauty of God in the ordinary days of a person.

I’m not Anglican, but this books speaks so powerfully to anybody (I think) who is facing discouragement, comparison, grief, or frustration with themselves in their spiritual life or creative work.

I found Joshua Luke Smith earlier this year, and stumbled upon his book not long after. The real, unfiltered courage to face the reality of his imperfect life was such a gift to read. Recommend this to anybody, anybody who is even considering.

[hannah]

there are not many books i’ve read (and i’ve read a lot!) that have stirred my soul, called me higher, and brought me to tears, quite like this one.

“this is the main event” is one of my favorite books of all time. joshua luke smith is a gorgeous, patient, and observant poet/writer, with a special knack for precious, approachable honesty that wraps its arms around the audience and says, “you are not alone” and furthermore, “your story is beautiful, just as it’s been written.” never have i felt so seen, yet so thoughtfully challenged.

some reactions i wrote on the last page when i finished: incredible, soul medicine (the quote from the back is correct!), transformative, stellar. moving through the process of lamentation (my personal favorite part), consecration, and adoration helped me tremendously — wholly changing my perspective and mindset — and opened my eyes to see the grace, mercy, beauty, and love God has for us in the “ordinary” of our current lives. in my life, i’ve spent a good amount of time wishing i could be somewhere else or having the next best thing, but this book showed me how precious it is to be right where i am. to be in the thick of it. to lean into my suffering. to let that lead to holy endurance. to live awakened by consecration. to lift my heart to him. to behold and revere. to see the Father staring back at me. to integrate resurrection into my everyday. to live with eternity in my gaze.

everyone should read this book (trust me!). bask in the warm light of its beautiful, moving poetry and in the depths of its unflinching, yet, hopeful, honesty. find the life you long for hidden in the life you have. adopt the mantra “this is the main event.” He’s making all things new.

i never want to forget it.♡

[Ruth]

A poetic, earthy and hope-filled invitation to find the life we long for in the life we already have.

Joshua Luke Smith beautifully writes about embracing the life we have through:

“lamentation: you are allowed to name your pain.
consecration: you are called to let grace change you.
adoration: you are invited to live in wonder of God’s daily presence.”

[Ali Grinnell]

Such a beautiful reminder

[liz]

The poetry 🤩 had to listen to this one. Amen.

[Ida Graston]

A beautiful read

[Clare Johnson]

A book I didn’t think I needed, but that turned out to be deeply nourishing. Joshua Luke Smith is truly gifted with words, and what a blessing they are to us.

[emma-elaine]

I think this is the best book I’ve ever read

[Rachelle Sperling]

I met Joshua Luke Smith in Oxford at Hutchmoot UK a number of years ago and I found his way of communicating truth very down to earth and engaging. I started paying attention to the things he was doing and I loved his book “Something You Once Knew.” So I was excited about the release of This Is The Main Event and even more excited to be offered a copy for review. The book did not disappoint. There is something so sincere about his writing; it slips off the page and connects to my life, even though my life looks very different from his.

I appreciated the very clear sections of the book and the fact that all throughout the book the main idea was reiterated over and over again in the midst of the varying stories and reflections. It was so helpful that even though the book takes you through many places along the journey you never lose sight of the plot. I would pause, put the book down and walk away remembering that the life I long for is hidden in the life I have.

This Is The Main Event is encouraging, engaging, and easy to read. More than that the truth that is being shared could be life changing if you let it. I absolutely recommend you pick up this book and let the words speak to you in your own unique life situation.

I received a free digital copy of this book. My endorsement and opinion are entirely my own and were in no way required of me.

[Kara Vyers]

One of the best books I’ve ever read. It fed my soul.

“This is the main event. Those words have become a mantra in our house, or better put, a sacred phrase…We say it as a prayer, earnestly reminding ourselves that God is present in the inconveniences and contradictions; and more often than not, he comes to us dressed in them. It’s said when the disappointment comes and despair rattles his gritty knuckles on the door of our hearts. It’s spoken as an invitation to feel and not forget that life is made up of many parts, and if any of it matters, then all of it does.
It's a simple phrase, but it calls us to attention because it’s so easy to imagine there's something else that all this is leading to, but what if this is it? What if we’re standing at the top of a mountain asking when we'll reach the summit? The life we long for is hidden in the life we have.”

Thankful to have listened to Joshua Luke Smith on John Mark McMillan’s new podcast, where they talk about the themes from this book. I love all of his poems sprinkled throughout as well.

[Sarah Fowler Wolfe]

This book made me tear up from its beauty, stop and thank the Lord for its truth, and highlight so many passages for their goodness.

This book reminds you of your place, your calling, your identity in ways you've heard and ways you haven't. You'll be both convicted and encouraged. (And the poetry, obviously, I mean, my gosh.) I will be buying multiple copies to give away and recommending many more.

"There is an invitation to another way awaiting all of us—an invitation to embrace all of life's potential for both heartbreak and hope, to feel it all, and to look ahead not with childish ignorance but with childlike expectation; not with hardened cynicism but with hopeful surrender; to see even our limitations as invitations."

{I received an ARC from HarperOne via NetGalley}

[K.Alexandria]

This book came just in time!

“We came so far, only, in the wrong direction.” Statements like this have stopped me in my tracks and given language to a grief I’ve been learning how to carry. We are in a process of reclaiming our lives, and the repeated sentiment that “the life you have always longed for is hidden in the life that you have” has been a steady comfort, bringing us back into the present and helping us notice the life that is actually here.

I treasure the words Joshua has found and crafted throughout this book. There is something deeply human in them, and a beautiful permission to simply be.

This book met me in a particular season of my life, and I’m grateful for the language it has given me for what I’m living through.

[Natalie]

Reading this book has nourished my soul over the past few weeks.

The chapters are the perfect length to read one before bed and another to start the morning.

The poetry, quotes and personal reflections are beautiful.

I am incredibly grateful to Joshua for writing this; what a delight to read.

[Duncan Rees]

If you get a chance read this

A wide ranging collection of Godly Wisdom delivered poetically. Although it contains many beautiful quotations the strongest words come from the author. Faith or no faith I think you’ll find this useful

[Emma Rae]

Required reading for life.

[Tori Beal]

These words were absolutely stunning. What a gift of poetry filled with so many precious reminders

[Megan Benger]

Loved this; highly recommend!

[Claire Dukes]

LOVED this book!