So the other day I received an email from someone who was celebrating a monumental success; she had succeeded at something that I failed at tremendously this year. Although I was happy for her, there was a part of me that felt disappointment and then those feelings of envy started to creep in – until I checked my thoughts.

Sometimes it can be difficult to celebrate the success of others when they’re in their season of victory and you’ve been in a season of wilderness, failures and setbacks. Have you ever experienced a time where you’ve tried everything to prosper at your dreams and nothing is working? It seems like the harder you try, the more resistance you experience?

Well, that’s because not every season is your season of victory. There will be times of your life where you’ll have to endure some uncomfortable, faith-stretching, character-testing circumstances. To add insult to injury, it will seem like everyone else around you is winning and feel like God has forgotten about you.

We all go through those seasons and tend to compare our behind-the-scenes to the highlight reel of others in this social media world. In those seasons, you have a choice to continue moving forward or to abort mission.

Although these seasons may be a wilderness that you weren’t expecting, they are always followed by a promised land. After winter, always comes spring. The most excruciating and frequent pains of pregnancy are right before birth. You may be one last push away from receiving all that you’ve prayed, hoped and cried for and that’s why it’s getting harder for you right now. All hell might be trying to break loose in your life and you think that your prosperity and success is still years away, but I’m here to tell you that you’ve come way to far from where you started to abort your mission now.

Something new is on the horizon for you. Until it manifests, wait for it with joy and expectancy. Even if it’s hard, celebrate and support the success of others and be committed to walking in love. How you wait for your Promised Land shows a lot about your character; so carefully choose your attitude. If someone has offended you, forgive them because that lack of forgiveness could be what’s holding you back from experiencing your success.

I have such an overwhelming feeling that 2016 is your “something new” year. God is going to do a new thing in your life and open doors for you that are so blessed that it will be worth every tear you’ve cried. Your finances, family, relationships, businesses and careers will be blessed and restored.

Don’t allow the disappointments of your past to dictate what God can do for your future. You may think about how things didn’t work out before and it will stop you from believing for better. I want you to forget those former things and press on towards what is ahead. Don’t even consider disappointment as an option and believe that 2016 is your “something new and promised land” year!

Leave your wilderness behind and walk into your new season of victory!

XOXO,

Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy