2024: Lesson Learned
“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Not my typical content, but still faith-based…
2024 was the greatest year of my life (so far). As I write this, I am seated on the recliner in my fiancé's living room, relaxing and looking out at the beautiful blue sky of the early afternoon. I keep looking down at the ring on my left hand in amazement. If you had told me on January 1st of 2023 that I would have moved across the country, started and left a job, started dating again, met the love of my life, traveled coast-to-coast several times, started another job, was let go from that position, got engaged, and still managed to stay in the Word and deepen my faith, I would've bugged.
I wanted to share the biggest lesson I learned in 2024, because it was a deeply unexpected one. As I mentioned, it was a wonderful year for me. I gained friends, made memories, traveled, and truly enjoyed my life for the first time in many years. I grew in my walk with God, and in doing so a lot of... unexpected issues appeared. I've written previously on spiritual warfare and the importance of putting on the armor of God to protect myself, but I haven't had much to say historically about protecting myself from those closest to me.
Jealousy is an interesting creature. William Shakespeare said the following in Othello, "O beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on." Has there ever been a person in your life that is relentless in their disdain for you? Someone who, no matter your efforts, you cannot do right in their eyes? You have gone above and beyond, even putting yourself on the back burner to people please this individual to no avail?
To be very clear, this page is not an advice blog. I am simply sharing my walk with the Lord, and I STRONGLY encourage you to pick up your Bible and walk with Him. But if I were to give any advice, it is to guard your heart against the world. That person you are sacrificing self to, the one who you are doing the absolute most for- they feed off of your insecurity. They don't care that you are damaging yourself in pursuit of them, their approval- their love.
The very second that your life starts looking better than theirs, and you start putting God first instead of the individual(s), they will turn on you faster than you can anticipate. This is because, despite your triumph not diminishing their accomplishments, they do not want you to win. This can open doors to that person (especially if they are not saved) experiencing demonic strongholds. They may hurl abuse at you, minimize all of your success, gossip and slander your name, and lie to those closest to you to try to bring you down.
Unfortunately, towards the latter half of 2024, I experienced this. The moment I started rising up out of the trenches, immediately I was attacked and ridiculed. I sat with this feeling of betrayal long enough that I gave it up to the Lord. My takeaway from time in prayer was this: the Holy Spirit in me agitates the demons in others. When you are experiencing God's goodness and provision, it can be a winnowing and pruning season as well. There are many people who do not want you to succeed, so they will do everything they can to discourage you when they see you are doing well. If I had to hazard a guess, this is how God tells you to watch those in your inner circle.
This is a hard season to go through. Perhaps it is your family, or your closest friend who is treating you this way. You got the promotion, you were baptized, you read the Bible cover-to-cover, you graduated, you got engaged, you started going to therapy, and suddenly their words become sharp and their eyes narrow. You thought you would have their love and support because you always gave them yours! Even when it inconvenienced you, because that's the woman God called you to be.
Not everyone will live their lives by a biblical standard. If you lean into Proverbs 31 or Titus 2 because you WANT to be a biblical woman, expect tomfoolery from the jealous ones around you. You may think, "I've always helped them! I've always supported them in their success, even when I was jealous because I was in a slump! I still showed up for them because I love them and want them to do well! Why are they being so unsupportive and disrespectful when I have done nothing wrong?!" The answer is simple: you are no longer living for their standard, but for the Lord. Let go, and let God take care of it. Anyone who discourages your healthy success does not deserve to have an active role in your life. Pray for them, their walk, their faith, and let God do the rest. Your identity is not found in your detractors, but in the Most High King.
I'm walking into 2025 with a new perspective: keep your enemies close, and your Bible closer. My fiancé and I have made it our mission to pray together once a day, even if we don't see each other. He picks up the phone and calls me before bed and we pray for everything and everyone on our prayer list. Every morning, the first thing I do is pray. Spending time in the Word is a much stronger priority for me, as time spent with God fortifies me for battle against the enemy and his rotten soldiers. I will seek out mentors and prayer warriors, and worship as I face obstacles.
In summation, the lesson of 2024 was that God's plan for my life is not minimized by those who have not surrendered theirs. I will continue to walk in the ways of the Lord, come what may.
God bless, and Happy New Year!