Running on Empty

Relying on, seeking, finding and responding to the Spirit is much like weightlifting.  Not only is it a process that takes a great deal of effort and practice to learn and strengthen in, it also appears to exhaust people, much like hard physical labor exhausts the physical body, or hard mental work exhausts the mind.

Most people have limits to the Spiritual strength and energy they can bring to bear and the amount of time they can bring that energy to bear.  This process and a lack of appreciation for it leads to issues and habits:

First, people running on empty who often have the spirit, learn to rely on "the iron rod" when they are running on empty.  Nephi’s vision showed that everyone on the path will have times when they lose sight and vision from time to time and need to rely on the recorded word of God, the scriptures, to give them something to keep from being lost. That does lead to it being easy not to question what is "translated correctly" and what is not.

Second, people running on empty rely on others.  Much like any member of a team, they can take turns letting others take the load.

Third, people often rely on their emotional reaction, logic, training and other skills to carry them when they run out of Spiritual strengths.  in fact, many turn to emotion, logic, habit or guidelines first as they are often more readily available at hand and easier ot reach.

Fourth, some people guess.  Often God makes us guess, study it out, and then find a confirmation or a negation.  Sometimes people only get as far as guessing.

I first started thinking about this on my mission when we switched mission presidents.  The new president came in and began to apply the skills that had made him phenomenally successful in business.  He had, of course (maybe I shouldn’t say "of course" but he had) been taught differently in Salt Lake, but he could not restrain himself because he "knew" he was right and had better tools than the people training him.  the mission went from first in the region to last.  I felt for him because he tried so hard and thereby tried the faith of many so hard.

Latter, I was an observer when Ezra Taft Benson wanted to talk to someone I’ll call “Molly” who looked just like one more thirty-something bland overweight barely active member.  A member of the 70 intercepted her on the way to the appointment to save President Benson from wasting his time (thinking that she had gotten an appointment rather than been requested to come in).  She mildly asked him if he had inquired of the Spirit and he told her that he didn’t need to in a matter so obvious.  President Benson made him drive to Provo to pick her up and drive her door to door for the rescheduled interview.

My own state  has waxed and waned.  I’m afraid that just as much of the last fifteen years has really drained me physically and emotionally, those years have also drained my Spiritually.  That has helped me appreciate not only my own weaknesses, but the weaknesses of others.

Too often we expect a complete lack of weakness, and we expect 24/7 peak performance — a standard past what we expect or find in athletes, the mind (e.g. chess or other mental sports) or in business (what futures trader could last on a 7 days a week, 12 hour a day schedule?).

It is good to recognize when we or others are running on empty and to think of what we can do to make things regurn to being full.  [As an aside, I would suggest that strife, emotional drains or entanglements, or other like approaches are unlike to generate light.  Rather, where love is, God is also.]