Continuing from a previous post of September 13, 2021, Larry W. Tippets from his book ‘Receiving Personal Revelation shared:
“We use the term workout to describe a session of physical exercise or of practicing physical skills as a way to prepare for a game or athletic competition. If you are the type of person who believes in regular physical workouts, you might ask yourself if a regular spiritual workout would be even more serviceable to your happiness and well-being. Instead of a workout to increase your muscle strength, flexibility, or lung capacity, your spiritual workout might be designed to help you overcome a short temper; rise above a tendency toward pessimism, lust, or laziness; or cultivate a closer relationship to Christ. Spiritual exercises increase spiritual capacity and strengthen our spiritual heart.
The notion of exercise has a negative connotation for some—either because of the effort or the time it takes away from other demands on our schedule. I do not see spiritual exercises, such as scripture study and prayer, as adding to the demands of my day—one more thing on my to do list. Rather, they provide me with an infusion of spiritual strength that enables me to better deal with the daily stresses of my life. When I am feeling overwhelmed, my spiritual exercises bring me back to my core—intimacy and unity with my Father and my Savior through the ministrations of the Holy Spirit. These exercises rouse my spirit daily and in so doing enable me to relate in a more Christlike way to those around me.
Maintaining spiritual strength is no different than maintaining physical strength—it’s a daily challenge, and progress is usually slow and incremental. Don’t become discouraged. Think in terms of months and years rather than days or weeks, in attaining your spiritual objectives (although some people exercise rather dramatic growth in a short period of time). Just as stretching or jogging can enable a person to function better with physical demands, a few minutes with the spiritual exercises of prayer, meditation and studying the word of God will equip us to better face and manage the challenges of life that greet us each day.
From Larry Tippetts Journal—Spirituality & Carnality (February 21, 2010)
“In our High Priests group meeting today, Mike shared a very helpful analogy using a balance scale or fulcrum. ‘As spirituality goes up,’ he explained, ‘carnality goes down. On the other hand, as carnality goes up, spirituality automatically goes down. It may be difficult, if not impossible, to work directly on a sin or an addiction without a counterbalancing emphasis on spiritual growth. Do something that raises your spirituality and, concurrently, carnality will diminish.’ As he spoke I sensed again how valuable spiritual exercises can be when sincerely entered into and persisted in over time.’
~Larry W. Tippetts, Receiving Personal Revelation (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2017), 47-48 (continued)
