How amazing is it that each person’s relationship with God is exclusively unique?
God does not share the same relationship He has with you, with anyone else.

So tell me, why do we always seem to weigh up our relationship with God, against everyone else’s.

Jenny prays twice a day.
Emma fasts every week.
James has been on a pilgrimage.
Dan has read the bible cover to cover…

What other points have you highlighted from someone ELSE’s relationship with God?
Why does it matter so much to you?

We get so caught up in how other people choose to worship God and build up their relationship with Him, that we don’t invest enough time and effort into understanding exactly what and how God wants us to develop our own.

Yes, in life it is quite normal for us to see what others are doing, and use it as an encouragement to be better, however when being like so and so becomes our sole focus, we end up creating unnecessary pressure for ourselves, which results in us becoming ineffective even in what we were able to do before.

In our relationship with God, it can be the same.
When we see our brothers and sisters at a certain level in their walk with Christ, or when someone describes a method of prayer/worship that ‘brings results’, we desire to experience the same thing, so we adopt their methods and we copy.

But to copy, is to imitate, and it is at this point that we lose the authenticity that we ought to have when worshipping and fellowshipping with God.

It is worth asking ourselves why we’re copying in the first place.
Is it because we truly want to move forward in God, or is it because we want to look good, look holy, and look ‘right up there with God’ to others?   

Let us remember that God searches the heart, and knows the intentions behind our actions – Proverbs 16:2, 1 Chronicles 28:9.

The bible also tells us that God desires us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth;

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
[John 4:24]

Therefore we should realise that in the midst of our copying and trying to do it Jenny’s way, we lose the truth.
In fact we may find that gradually, we feel less fulfilled when we communicate with God, because what we’re doing simply does not work for us.

Don’t get me wrong, it is absolutely beautiful for us to desire to know God better, and love Him better.
But rather than pursuing a relationship with God that looks like someone else’s, let us simply desire to be the type of men and women that God seeks out; men and women after God’s heart – 1 Samuel 13:14.
Seeking God’s heart is something we should definitely long to do, because this is someone who God can trust to do His will.

“And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’”
[Acts 13:22]

The more we seek God’s heart, the more we will grow in intimacy with Him.
As we grow in intimacy with Him, God Himself will reveal the different ways in which He desires for us to worship Him, serve Him, and live for Him.
Not only will we have restoration of authenticity in our relationship, but very simply put, our relationship with God, will be Special.

Finally, I want us to remember, that no matter how big we describe God to be, He still definitely cares about ‘little ol’ you’, and He truly does understand you – every detail about you.

So whatever your relationship with God looks like at the moment, embrace it.
Yes, you should forever strive to get closer to God, but strive to get closer in your own special way, not anyone else’s.
You aren’t competing with Emma, James or Dan, so simply focus on having an exclusive and genuine relationship between you and the God who made you.

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.