Put Off
The phrase “Put off” has many meanings: to postpone or delay something, to cause someone to feel disinterested or discouraged, distracted or disturbed, and lastly, to remove or take off something.
In all honesty, 2024 had moments when I felt “put off” in every sense of the phrase. There were times it felt like I was taking one step forward and two steps backward, like two-stepping to a sad country song.
I was put off by delays. I was put off by cancer. I was put off by financial storms. I was put off by relational challenges. I was put off by relentless emotional heartaches.
There was a night when the weight of it all felt unbearable. I cried out to the Lord, “I just need to see that You have something good ahead. I trust You, but I feel displaced, disappointed, and discarded right now. Show me that there’s something to look forward to.” The next morning, I woke up to an email that held an invitation so divine, it made my soul scream, “God, You see me!” In that moment, I put off the sorrow and put on some real dancing.
Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV) tells us: “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Life will always bring its share of challenges, but here’s the question: What have you put off that should be put on?
What conversations are you avoiding?
What appointments have you delayed?
What dream have you deferred?
What hope have you quenched?
What investment have you postponed?
What manuscript is gathering dust?
It’s time. It’s time to put off the defeat, all the setbacks of 2024, and put on holiness. Just as this is a new year, you are a new creation in Christ. It’s time to believe again, trust again, take risks, move forward, and step into the promises God has for you.
This is a Joshua 1:3 year: “I will give you every place where you set your foot.” But remember, you can’t harness authority without taking responsibility. You can either own your comfort, or you can own your calling.
So, let’s choose the latter by:
Putting on the full armor of God (Eph 6:13).
Clothing ourselves with dignity and strength (Prov 31:25).
Walking worthy of the call to which you’ve been called (Eph 4:1).
Taking the land one step at a time (Joshua 1:3).
Stop being “busy” and start being productive.
Stop looking behind you—look ahead.
Stop blaming and start working on the dream placed inside of you.
Stop counting delay as death; see it as more time to invest and prepare for success.
And after you’ve done everything to stand, stand firm! Put on layers of boldness, grit, love, peace, and joy no matter what you face, knowing this year is your year. GIRL, ALL THAT LOOKS GOOD ON YOU! This is your year, so let’s two-step boldly into all that God has for us. Let’s go girls!
