After watching the remastered CGI version of The Lion King, I, like others, don’t know what to call the filming techniques, but they pulled it off! Except for a few changes, it’s the same movie as the original, with characters more life-like than animated. Regardless, my take-away was different from when I watched the original. This time, I was struck by Scar’s manipulations used to kill Mufasa, to steal his throne, and to destroy his son Simba’s destiny.  

The next morning, my husband shared his opinion about how the movie might adversely affect children. I view his assertions as valid, but all I could think about was Scar’s twisted obsession with becoming king. Jealousy can lead to murderous intentions. This was illustrated in the insinuations that Scar used to get Mufasa’s son to believe that he had caused his father’s death.

What a familiar reminder this was to me, concerning how Satan’s ploys can affect God’s children, going all the way back to his trickery in the Garden of Eden and man’s infamous fall from grace.

At times, we can be oblivious to the wiles of a foe, resulting in personal loss or harm; yet other times we can be intuitively aware, but lax enough to ignore the signs that point to the painful truth. This self-sabotaging behavior can be rooted in a false sense of invincibility, or like Simba, it can simply be naïveté.

This is why spiritual awareness versus self-awareness is imperative to the manifestation of one’s destiny.

A teenager coming of age in a small town, I bravely changed my trajectory by venturing south to live in New York City. I quickly learned that just 2 hours from home there was a melting pot of energy vastly counter to my childhood experiences. Moreover, I discovered that pigeons could fly! Yes, I had much to learn. My street-smart adult boyfriend acted as my guide to life in the city. He schooled me one day, opining in his New York accent:

“There’s two people you don’t want in your life. A person who’s scared o’you and a person who’s jealous o’you, ’cause both will kill you.”

That was at least 40 years ago, but I haven’t forgotten those words. In sum, a person who fears you will be on guard, posing a danger because of their anxious interpretation of your intentions—it doesn’t matter that their conclusions are irrational. A person who is jealous of you, like Scar, and envies what you have—and wants it—is also dangerous. Jealousy and envy combined, therefore, is lethal.

I’m no stranger to being envied at times in my life. I’ve also experienced people’s jealousy of me. I’m not talking about a passing display of negative emotions towards me. I’m talking about obsessive, unhealthy behaviors that either caused me harm, or were intended to cause me harm, but were circumvented by me cutting those persons out of my life.

I encourage you to consider the red flags that served to warn you about your foes. I’m challenging you to ruminate those revelations that you may have ignored at previous times.

What does this have to do with living affirmed, you may be thinking:

The connection may not be glaringly obvious, but your destiny is connected to your well-being, especially regarding your mental and emotional preservation and your spiritual preparedness.

Many who are real with ourselves will need to reaffirm our significance to ourselves from time to time, to boldly demonstrate our purpose and value in the world. To be driven by purpose will mean that we must keep our destinies in mind, realizing that life is not solely about us and our being here, but that it is also about our unique positions and callings to the lives we were created to impact.

Conversely, antagonistic relationships can deplete our souls to the point that we remain on the “existing” side of life’s bridges versus crossing to the “thriving” side of life’s bridges—our destinies.

Trust your tribe and stick with your persons, blood notwithstanding. When you are purpose driven, you understand the importance of separation, regardless of blood ties and soul ties. You will sever the cords that bind you from crossing your bridge to destiny.

3 TIPS FOR BREAKTHROUGH

Recognize that every human on earth has a foe. “Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does” (1 Peter 5:8-11, MSG). God is sovereign!

Realize that even family members and close friends can become toxic in their communications, thoughts, and actions both to you and about you. Understand clearly that the devil doesn’t care who he uses to shut you down. The closer your relationship, dependency, or love for someone, the better that person is for him to accomplish his purpose— “to steal and kill and destroy”—to keep you immobilized at the brink of your bridge to destiny. You, being fully aware of who you are and what you must do, but frozen in time as it ticks away, like Scar’s wiles against Simba demonstrated. As my husband pointed out, “Hakuna Matata” meant death to Simba’s destiny. Indifference to the call on your life would mean death to your success, purpose, and destiny. Consider this blog post to be Nala’s wakeup call to you.

Release every person or habit that grips your mind and taps your energy, keeping you from doing what you KNOW you must do. I posted a meme to my Facebook that reads: “Codependency is driven by the agreement that I will work harder on your problem and your life than you do. This is not love. #KYLO” Your life, driven by purpose, versus another’s burden, is the only life that that you get to live successfully. Anything else would render you stuck in Hakuna Matata land. Recognize healthy boundaries. Sever crippling ties. Until you do, nothing you try will work. Release all that is not yours, including those who don’t want you in their lives. You were created to live your life affirmed.

Breakthrough will follow!

Please post your questions or comments below expecting to be heard in a judgment free zone, I’d love to hear from you! LYLA!

DESTINY AWAITS first appeared on Living Affirmed at http://www.mjeanettesmith.com

Photo by Brian McMahon on Unsplash; Photo by Danielle Barnes on Unsplash; Photo by MJ Smith; Photo by Pro Church Media on Unsplash; Photo by Francesco De Tommaso on Unsplash;

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