I heard an interesting story a while ago as I was listening to a Bethel Church podcast;
During a church meeting, there was a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit with diverse physical manifestations. However, not everyone in the church was carried along in these manifestations. In order for the rest of the people not to feel completely lost, the minister nicely asked the people that were not ‘manifesting’ to write down all the thoughts that were going through their minds at that time. At the end of the meeting, he interacted with this set of people and deciphered from their writings that they were actually having encounters with the Holy Spirit, just that these were encounters of a different kind. A different kind that was not inferior to the other – just different.
It’s so easy to look at what is happening in other people’s lives and want what they have, forgetting that we are all on different courses on the way to our expected end. Another trap that we also fall into frequently is to think that if the manifestation is not physical, then it is inferior. This makes us to erroneously glorify those physical manifestations.
Back in my University days, I had this friend that would always cry so much while praying. I judged him to be very spiritual because he always had a ‘deep encounter’ at every prayer time. I really tried hard to start crying at my own prayer times, but my tear glands would never cooperate. In my ignorance, I equated the cry to an encounter with God and I looked down on myself and my prayer life because I wasn’t having that ‘encounter’. I also remember not falling down under the anointing in some services while others were being slain in the anointing and thinking something was wrong with me. Thank God for what He has taught me since those days of ignorance.
In the second part of 2Corinthians 10: 12, we are advised not to compare ourselves with ourselves because it is not a wise thing to do and it has the potential of leading us into errors:
However, when they measure themselves with themselves and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding and behave unwisely. 2Cor 10: 12(AMP)
I believe the safest thing to do is to have that personal relationship and encounter with God, where what you do is not influenced by what another person is doing or what your pastor says. The only influence should be the Holy Spirit. You definitely can’t miss it this way. In other words, shift your standards from the ways of men to the leading of the Holy Spirit. If you try to be like someone else, you will only end up as a near perfect copy. Discover your course from God at the secret place and stay on course. His grace is sufficient for you.
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