That Horrible Sense of Being Behind Other People Spiritually

I once asked the Lord if I was catching up to Bob on the mountain of prayer. “Surely I must be getting close, right? I’ve learned so much!”

And the Lord said, “He has mountain ranges you know nothing about.”

Harumph.

But rather than ask the Lord what he meant by that, I assumed that he meant, “He’s in another country entirely, and you have a long way to go. Bummer for you!”

After stewing in frustration for a few months (have I mentioned this is not the most flattering of stories?!), I asked my friend Paul Van Hoesen about this. “Paul! I’m never going to catch up! Waaaahhhhhh!”

There was a pause, and I thought, “Oh, goodness. He’s going to remind me that, in the kingdom, we don’t compete. I wish I had remembered that before I started this conversation.”

Sure enough, I finally had a little bit of prophetic insight, right before he started speaking.

Correct. Prayer is not a competition.

Paul said, “Amy, I have some scriptures for you to write down.”

He rattled off:

• 1 Corinthians 10:12: So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

• John 14:26: But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

• 1 Corinthians 3:21-3: So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

You don’t need to compete! The Holy Spirit teaches you all things! You have access to everything you need!

We all have mountain ranges that other people don’t know anything about. I have mountain ranges that you don’t know anything about. But you also have mountain ranges that I don’t know anything about. But that doesn’t matter, because the point is not, “Am I catching up to this person or that person?”

You’re not trailing behind Bob on the mountain of prayer. The point is that we are all following Jesus, on our own paths. And so you get to be yourself on your own journey. And I get to be myself on my journey. And all our journeys are beautiful. We all work together to help build the body of Christ. It’s not a zero sum game! We all work together!

Ah. So it’s not like Bob is crossing his mountain ranges and I’m trailing behind on the path.

Instead, we all get to share the things that the Lord has given us.

Your path is beautiful and unique, and that you don’t compete with anyone.

Lord Jesus, thank you that you came to earth. Thank you that you walk with each of us, on our own unique paths. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Amen.

To him be the glory, in the church, and in King Jesus, to all generations, and to the ages of ages,

Amy Joy

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