There are things that we need to know about our relationship with God, and if we don’t know, they can cause our downfall. There are things that we need to know so that we can act on them. It doesn’t matter if you know something if you’re not doing anything with it. That’s why we’re told to be doers of the Word.

Our relationship with God defines everything that we are. At least it should. Is your relationship with God something you do on Sundays and Wednesdays, or is it something that happens every day? Is it a continual relationship that exists 24/7, or is it an afterthought for everything in life? Our relationship with God should be greater than any other relationship that we have. It’s something that defines us. It’s something that permeates everything that we are. Our relationship with God tells us who we are, what we have, and what we can do. CS Lewis once said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” Our relationship with God should touch every area of our lives.

Don’t allow your relationship with God to be based on someone else’s relationship. Don’t allow your relationship with God to be based on your pastor’s, youth pastor’s, parent’s, or friend’s relationship with God. Many people think that because the people they surround themselves with have good relationships with God, that means they have a good relationship with God. There are people who have a reputation that comes not from who they are, who their relationship is with, what they can do, and what God has called them to do, but from what someone else has called them to do. There are people across the nation who are known not for who they are or what they do, but for those they have associated with. They’re known for whose son or grandson they are. There’s nothing wrong with being known as the son or grandson of so-and-so. However, when what you bring to the table (what people think God in you is) is based on who your father or grandfather is, then something is wrong. We should have a reputation not for being the son of someone who has great faith, but for being someone who has great faith.

Don’t allow your pastor’s relationship with God to deceive you into thinking you have a relationship with God. Our relationship with God is between Him and us—no one else. No one can have a relationship with God in your place. If you allow them to, then you open yourself up to being deceived by the same things that they are deceived by. That doesn’t mean they are deceived, but you will be if you allow yourself to fall into that trap.

Don’t compromise who God called you to be. Compromise can be very simple. It’s the little foxes that spoil the vine. The devil is out to get you to trade your relationship with God for anything. Many people think about selling their souls to the devil for fame and riches. The truth is that the devil doesn’t need to do that for the majority of humanity. All he has to do is get you to compromise your relationship through this distraction or that one. He just needs to get you to make an idol of something other than God. He needs to get you to put more of a priority on anything besides God. Samson compromised because of a woman. Judus compromised for 30 silver pieces. Demas compromised because he loved the world. Peter compromised because of fear.

The devil will use whatever he can to get you to compromise. If you have a price, the devil will pay it. So make sure anything that the devil can use in your life is gotten rid of. You do that through prayer—asking the Lord to reveal things to you that need to be gotten rid of. You do that by doing what the Word says. You renew your mind. You walk in love. You get the Word in you, so the Word is constantly going out of you.

Our relationship with God can get complex. Many people like to look at the writings of people who have passed away and been dead for years and comment on their relationship with and view of God. The problem with that is that we are all progressing and changing. What you believe today will be different from what you believe in a couple of years, to some degree. There are truths that, hopefully, will never change in your life. Through everything that we experience, we need to understand that our relationship with God is our relationship. We should never judge our relationship with someone else’s. Don’t be down on yourself or high on yourself because you see how someone else interacts with God. Sure, there are things we can learn from others, but don’t compare. Comparison is a trap of the devil. You continue in your relationship, your race, as the Bible calls it, and let them continue in theirs. Stay with the Word and the Spirit.