When God puts callings on our lives, it is exhilarating, yes, but so often it can also be downright scary!
My word for 2024 is “imagine.” I arrived at it by taking a quiz on Dayspring’s website, where they inquired about my hopes, my fears, my prayers, and more. The word mystified me at first, and I didn’t quite understand how I could apply that particular word to my life, but after a few minutes of prayer and contemplation, I got it.
I have been dawdling on pursuing so many things because of fear, and God wants me to imagine all that He could do with my passions, skills, giftings, and callings this year. He is asking me to step out in faith and go hard on my goals, with confidence that He is in the midst of things. I was all for it until I had my first setback mere weeks into the new year. Someone I respect said something to me that my mind immediately interpreted as, “You are not up to par in this particular passion.”
The enemy used that to stop me cold in my tracks. My insecurity-addled brain told me that I had no talent in this area, that I would never be able to go the places I wanted to go with it, and that I should just stop and walk away. Which is why when I sat down to work on something last night and that voice resurfaced in my head, I simply closed my laptop and walked away.
That’s when God interrupted and said, “I want to use this, and you’re letting satan tell you that I can’t? Is it not I, the Lord, that gave you this gift in the first place, that it might glorify Me? IMAGINE, My girl, IMAGINE.”
So today, I take a deep breath, and I dare to imagine again.
If you are in the midst of purshing thing that align with your word of the year, know that the enemy will try to dim your confidence to strive after all God has for you. Don’t let him. When he tries to put up his weak little roadblocks, tell him, “Not today,” for he is a jester, and you are backed by the King.
(If you want to find your word of the year, you can take this quiz.)