10 Lessons from 10 Years in Christ
I recently celebrated 10 years since I decided to really live as a Christian. Here are 10 of the most impactful things I have learned between ages 14-24, following Jesus and serving in ministry.
When I first gave my life to Christ, I was so scared to fail! Because of His faithfulness, God has developed me and kept me all these years. Here’s the most important things I’ve learned so far.
Lesson 1: Everybody is Just a Person.
When I got saved, I kid you not, I had this vision of a major celebrity being shot to death. I was so shocked at how easily they died. The holy spirit ministered to me that every single walking person, no matter who they are, is just a breath, just wind. Fearing man is fearing the wind, the withering grass. Of course it is also idolatry, and sinful, but it’s also just so silly.
This is the very first thing I learned in my walk with Christ, and I believe God strategically sowed this word in my heart to build a solid foundation for my faith. The fear of man is a major time waster and will definitely destroy your life if you let it. This revelation early in my walk is what allowed me to not be afraid to tell the truth, be confident in my identity as a Christian in public high school, and to teach the word of God without shrinking- even when it meant people would be very upset with things the Holy Spirit asked me to share.
Lesson 2: Your real friends (the ones meant for you) will not abandon you. When you genuinely give Christ your life, your life is bound to change. When I gave my life to Christ, I sat my closest friends down and shared my testimony. It wasn’t easy but it was something I felt instructed by God to do. Later on, I actually hid my bible study from some of my friends, because I really didn’t want to be “bible study girl.” But I had to accept my true identity, and trust that people meant to be my friends would stick around.
Some people will start acting differently, and they may leave you out of things. It’s okay! Don’t blame them or be bitter. True friends love you for you, are trustworthy, and will not abandon you. A number of my friends are not Christians, and our friendships still thrived because they were not founded on sinful practices. We just loved each other genuinely.
Over the years there have been instances where there was something I wasn’t comfortable doing - (often not even because of me, but because I am not going to be in the mix somewhere fruitlessly ruining the vibes) that my friends always respected and honored. My friends grew to understand my identity, values, and boundaries. And I did the same for them. This made our relationships richer, realer, and gave me the security of genuine love and support, not just liking each other because we’re in the same place at the same time or have the same vibe. My friendships are the top 3 biggest blessings in my life - God loves me through the people He has given me!
Lesson 3: You cannot be everything everyone wants you to be, if Jesus did that He would have never died on the cross. Luke 5:15-16 and John 7:3-5 have helped me understand this truth. Peter wanted Jesus to live forever with them on earth, other followers wanted Him to be consistently available to heal them, and the many wanted Him to be their political savior. These are all "good" things.
He disappointed them all, and because of that, He was able to fulfill His true purpose as the door to salvation for millions of people. You WILL disappoint people. But life always goes on. And they will move on. They may even be grateful later that you did not become what they wanted to mold you into. Even if they aren’t glad, you definitely will be. At the end of this life, we will be accountable to ONE. Be who He wants you to be, if you are wise.
Lesson 4: Kindness is not Niceness. This revelation legitimately changed my entire life. Jesus was kind. Jesus was not always nice. To be nice means to be agreeable. It is great to be nice! But it is commanded that we be kind. Therefore, we must understand that these are not the same thing. Without understanding this distinction, people waste their time and emotions and misunderstand the nature of God.
Notice that niceness is defined by how people experience you (which is important btw! just not priority.) It is not defined by authentic love or care for the person experiencing you. We can certainly be nice without being kind. We can pretend. We can be pleasant and palatable.
We can also be kind without always being nice. From 1 Cor 13: 8, we know that love is kind. And if we are mature, we will know that love is not always nice. It was not nice when Jesus avoided sick people to focus on prayer, or when he ignored some of the questions asked to him, or when he flipped the tables in the temple and called people snakes. But it was holy, wise, good, loving, and the will of God. There is a time to not be agreeable, just for the sake of false peace. There is a time to have convictions, stand by the truth, and possibly rub people the wrong way. At least, if you are interested in being a follower of Jesus Christ.
When I realized I’m not measured by how nice and pleasant I appear to be, but instead by how genuinely loving I am, something broke off of me. I was able to give and receive love more effectively. I was able to preach the full gospel with less fear. I was able to do what was really uncomfortable for me - ignore some people, in order to focus on my assignments. This is one of my life principles, and it continues to help me, especially now that I am in corporate America!
Lesson 5: God is merciful but never mocked. You reap what you sow. (Gal 6:7) You can pray for revival and speed and everything…but until you do the thing God has actually asked you to do, you won’t see growth. Obedience is truly better than sacrifices. Obey God. Live righteously. Even the believer will suffer if they cut corners and lack integrity. Living in that way causes you to miss out on so much more than what your eyes can see.
God is a father, not a patsy to be used for when we want a get out of jail free card after we do what we knew was wrong to do. He cares about protecting and covering us, but he is a GOOD father who will let you suffer the consequences of your folly in certain cases, so that you will stop choosing wrongly! That is good parenting.
Imagine if you had a child and you got them a new car. Then, when showing off to their friends, or using it when not allowed, or some other silly reason, they total it. Is it wickedness to not buy that child another car? Of course not! Wickedness would be to disown the child, abandon them, and hate them forever for it. A loving parent would scold them and then maybe help them find a job to save their own money for another car. Simply buying them another car will likely spoil them, and God is more committed to our proper development than our comfort. If you do rubbish you will see rubbish in your life!
Lesson 6: Prayer is the greatest work!! Man, the stories I have about the power of prayer and intercession! As ministers, we can be so confident in our flesh and our works because we “see” something happening. But the scripture is clear, the flesh profits nothing. This scripture does not say that the flesh does not achieve anything, but the costs will always outweigh the benefits. Having an active, breathing, prayer and intercession life shows God that we are serious about those we are ministering to. It also achieves a lot more than we can ever imagine. We have physical eyes, but if the eyes of our understanding can be enlightened, we would truly come to understand that everything in life is spiritual first. Get to the roots, get on your knees, and do the real work of prayer. You will see that all the other work becomes so much easier, more impactful, and more supernatural! Then, God will truly get the glory, not us!
Lesson 7: Those that have been forgiven of much, have a greater capacity to forgive (Matt 18:21-25) This is the best way to become unoffendable. Whenever I thought about how poorly someone treated me, I was able to forgive by remembering how poorly I have treated God. This sounds cliche but it is truly transformational. So many things I accuse others of, I have done myself, or I am humble enough to know I could be capable of doing. When I refuse to open myself up to those God called me to be reconciled to (important to make this distinction), it was always because of fear of being hurt again. But I remember that God opens Himself up to me over and over again, even when I do the same thing I "repented" from. The reality of my brokenness helps me forgive others quickly and often.
Lesson 8: God will never misuse your life if you truly give it to Him. You did not imagine, create, or sustain your own life. The very idea of human life was God’s idea and handiwork. Therefore, He is the expert. He knows EXACTLY what He is doing. In every word He says to you, every instruction, every moment. It is impossible for Him to waste your time. Believe that God is a DOER, and that your vision for your life is so much less than what His vision is. Trust.
Lesson 9: If you want people to grow in sharing the word/praying/etc, just let them do it, even if it's “bad” at first. They will grow. They will grow! We cannot be so prideful to think it is our human efforts that make people grow. Nor can we be so faithless to not give people a chance to experience the power of God to minister through their unlearned vessels. I grew tremendously in teaching the word in my first 3 years in Christ. This did not happen because I studied theology, read on how to teach the word, or even from watching others teach - it happened when I started teaching weekly bible studies at my high school, under the leadership of my campus ministry. The power of the Holy Spirit became real to me then. I was saying things not even knowing where it came from. Trust that God is able to use everyone that is willing - we must stop babying people and trust in God within them!
There is no need to be in a rush, Jesus never rushed.
Lesson 10: My Greatest Regret
In the past decade my greatest regrets were not times when I backslid, disobeyed, or even misrepresented Him. The most regretful times, the memories wrench my heart to its core, are the times I simply did not trust Him. When I did not trust His intentions, His character, His word. These are times that I knew what trusting in Him looked like, and I chose another path. I had excuses. Traumas and so many reasons as to why I just didn’t have faith. The pain of those memories still brings me to my knees today. I am thankful for God’s mercy. I would pay money to have a redo. Because in all things, and at the end of the day when it’s all said and done, I want God to really know that I trust in Him. That if no one trusts in Him, Jada-Mercy does.
I could seriously go on and on talking about the value of genuine faith. God can truly give us all things we ask for (Romans 8:32). Therefore, our relationship with God is not about those things. It’s about something more. The process, the intimacy, the relating, that brings about the fruit of faith - the thing that pleases God most! Faith is the glass through which we see God, and God wants to be seen accurately. So much so that faith is the only way by which we receive a spot in His family. Everything is about faith.
God deserves all of my trust. He has earned it, over and over and over. He has proved He is faithful and dependable. I hate that despite this, my heart has moments of confusion and fear concerning His intentions for me. My greatest prayer is that I will always have faith and trust in the Lord alone.
If I don’t ever do ministry again, if I never preach the gospel again, if I do nothing, let me have faith.
Thank you for reading my first ever blog post! More is coming very soon :) Subscribe to hear more experiences from my life and community.