Episode 82: 3 Reasons Your Spirituality Will Not Survive the Coming Days

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In recent years President Nelson, along with many other apostles, has encouraged us to prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming days. In a myriad of ways they have warned us that we won’t survive spiritually if we are not doing certain things. Their counsel has touched my heart and given me a strong desire to not only prepare myself but to help others do the same. One quote in particular from Elder Anderson really struck a chord with me.

“We realize that as evil increases in the world, our spiritual survival, and the spiritual survival of those we love, will require that we more fully nurture, fortify, and strengthen the roots of our faith in Jesus Christ. Today and the days ahead require more focused and concentrated effort, guarding against diversions and carelessness.”

The world really is a completely different place than it was and our spirituality is on the chopping block if we aren’t careful. I think it’s not only important to talk about what we need to be doing, but also what is leading to the breakdown of our spiritual foundations. There are three themes I’ve noticed when the prophet and apostles have been talking about our spirituality that are leading to it not surviving or thriving. 

Deception

There is so much deception all around us all the time. So ask yourself the following questions. Do you recognize this deception? Are you believing it when it comes because you don’t recognize it? It is really important to recognized deception because when it enters into your heart and mind it can take root into certain areas and start to grow. Once it begins to grow it will then spread and cause other areas to break down. Areas in which you thought might have been stable.

Deception is such a tricky thing because it can really spread quickly within us if we aren’t in a place to detect or deflect it. Especially with the increased speed in which we can gain and transfer knowledge around the world.  You can see that deception is not hard to come by in today's world.

All you have to do is log into social media and scroll for about 10 minutes and you will find multiple examples of deception. It is prevalent and can be found in so many areas of our lives. President Nelson even warned us about deception.

“Moses provided an example of how to discern between God and Satan. When Satan came tempting Moses, he detected the deception because he had just had a face-to-face interaction with God…Thus, the antidote to Satan’s scheme is clear: we need daily experiences worshiping the Lord and studying His gospel. I plead with you to let God prevail in your life. Give Him a fair share of your time. As you do, notice what happens to your positive spiritual momentum.”

I love that he tells us about the antidote to deception. Having our own interactions with God daily. Getting to know God through His scriptures and building a relationship with Him through meaningful prayer will help us recognize deception as it comes our way because His influence on our hearts and minds will be readily available. Elder Anderson taught us how these interactions with God bless our lives.

 “As we better experience His love, we love Him even more and, very naturally, better follow His example of loving and caring for those around us. With every righteous movement toward Him, we see Him more clearly. We adore Him, and we try in our small ways to emulate Him.”

When we know Him we become more like Him we are better able to help our loved ones know Him. Which can then lead to them being able to detect deception as well. Even just the interactions they have  with you who has become more like the Savior.

Most importantly we know that we can trust God. We can trust all He impresses on our hearts. We can trust his love and loyalty to us. We can trust Him and His plan for us. President Nelson has said,

“God will not abandon His relationship with those who have forged such a bond with Him.”

If you work on your relationship with Him, He will help you notice the deception when it crosses your path. As you scroll social media and come across deceptive posts you will immediately recognize them as such. Your relationship with God will be profound in how you react to deception.

Complacency

Becoming complacent in where we are spiritually will not lead to a steady strength. But rather complacency leads to a weakening. A weakening of our faith and ability to receive personal revelation. Elder Soares lays this out perfectly for us.

“This complacency, so to speak, causes us to take the gospel gifts for granted, and from then on, we run the risk of neglecting both our regular immersion in the essentials of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the covenants we have made. Consequently, we gradually distance ourselves from the Lord, weakening our ability to “hear Him,” becoming indifferent and insensitive to the greatness of His work. Doubt regarding the truths we have already received may enter our mind and heart, making us vulnerable to the enemy’s temptations. Pastor Aiden Wilson Tozer, a renowned writer and valiant Christian, wrote, “Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.”

Wow I love how he really lays out the cycle and how it happens to us. First we take for granted our spiritual foundation and just assume it can withstand anything since we did the work earlier. This can look like multiple situations we may find ourselves in.

Maybe that looks like going to church every week but not really doing the work to receive personal revelation on a daily basis. Or perhaps saying your prayers as a duty and not as a way to increase your ability to hear Him more in your life. As though attending church and praying are just part of your spiritual checklist.

When you go through the motions and treat the gospel like a checklist, it is really easy for doubt to creep in when life gets difficult. When true doubt creeps in we may succumb to the adversary telling us that it’s ok to keep being complacent. 

Ultimately, what I think complacency keeps us from is the communication from a source, the Savior, who knows exactly where our time needs to be spent, how to help our loved ones, and the strength and energy to do it all. Complacency keeps you from truly hearing Him. 

 Inconsistency

One of the most influential thoughts that keeps faithful women from being consistent is the thought that “if I am not perfect, why do it at all?" So often women do not understand what true perfection means in the gospel. They think it means without mistake.

The only way we are ever without mistake in the gospel is by making daily connections with Christ who will create a perfection when we connect with Him. It’s the CONSISTENT daily spiritual connections that we make with the Savior that cause us to become perfect IN and THROUGH Him. 

I love this statement from the introduction to Come, Follow Me: “The aim of all gospel learning and teaching is to deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ… The kind of gospel learning that strengthens our faith and leads to the miracle of conversion doesn’t happen all at once. It extends beyond a classroom into our hearts and homes. It requires consistent, daily efforts to understand and live the gospel. Gospel learning that leads to true conversion requires the influence of the Holy Ghost.”

Creating Spiritual habits that you can consistently do will connect you with the Savior and the Holy Ghost daily. Remembering that perfection is created through the connection with Christ not in the act of trying to be perfect and not need the Savior. 

The good news? Deception, Complacency and Inconsistency all have an antidote. It is building a strong relationship with God that help us withstand challenges, learning strategies to truly hear Him daily, and learning to have consistent daily spiritual habits.

All of which are skills I teach in my Spiritual Survival Course. In the course, you will learn THREE frameworks to stop treating the gospel like a checklist and become a receiver so you can build a stronger relationship with God, have consistent spiritual habits and hear Him daily. Those three frameworks will help you....

Feel efficient and motivated to tackle the day

Discern God’s direction at every moment to lead your family

Have endurance physically and mentally to deal with challenges

EVERY SINGLE DAY!

As a bonus to joining I also add in the Seeking Personal Revelation Journal for FREE which is a value  of $30. You will also receive my Consistency Without Perfection Masterclass AND a digital download of 25 Ways to Connect with God in 5 Minutes or Less.

This course is normally $150 but I am doing a special only for those who listen to the podcast or read this post. I am making the course 50% off. You can snag the course for just $75!

If you want to learn to receive God’s power daily to survive spiritually in the coming days, be sure to grab this course. Give yourself the gift of spiritual survival this Christmas season or it is also a great gift to give to a loved one or maybe a child that’s about to go on a mission. I am also happy to answer any questions you might have so just shoot me an email.