Overcoming Jealousy with God: Trading Envy for Strength and Peace
- meetgodattheedgeof
- Aug 28
- 3 min read
Proverbs 14:30
A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.
Jealousy is another tricky one. Whenever the Lord gives me a word like this, I like to take a few minutes and see where this fits into my life. Am I jealous? Is there a certain situation that came up that roused my jealousy? Without a doubt, I find something.
This type of jealousy is more of a covet than a worry over losing something or someone to a rival. I remember when I worked with Dave. He made more money than I did. He got better work than I did. He had a huge house, new cars, a motor home, ATVs he would take to the desert, and a garage with a dang car lift in it.
He had what I aspired to have at that time in my life. Back then, my value was rooted in the wrong place—more in what I could see and touch than in what God had for me. Some days, the jealousy physically hurt. Pretty pathetic, right? That’s what happens when we’re not overcoming jealousy with God but trying to handle it on our own.
The Lord has done a mighty work in my life since then. At that time, no one would have known any of these things I now freely share. My hospital stay, this story, my failures—they were secrets. But now I see things without a veil, and I will happily share if it causes even one person’s thought to turn to God. Even one person to open the Word of God and read for themselves. It’s now my heart’s desire.
In that change, I now value things unseen over what I can touch. I now see possessions like what Dave had as obstacles. Don’t get me wrong—if the Lord provided my kids and me with an ATV, we would enjoy it to the max. But in this part of my life, it’s not the focus. Those things can distract. When our focus shifts to things of eternal value, the value of worldly things diminishes. And that’s a good thing.
Overcoming jealousy with God allows us to see that His plan has far more fulfillment and peace than anything the world offers. On top of that, we serve a God who gives good gifts. Even without the big house or endless possessions, God has still given us money for a vacation, for a car or truck, for a TV, and the list goes on. He will give you good gifts at the right time and in the right way.
We may never live like Dave, but we can live at peace with that and live lives of purpose and fulfillment. You can come to a place where you don’t need all the extras to be full of joy. When you truly find joy, you’re willing to give up everything for it. In that moment, when your understanding grows, the Holy Spirit floods you with peace because your focus has changed.
That’s the power of overcoming jealousy with God.
James 4:2-3
[2] You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. [3] And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
Thank You, Father, for the good gifts You give us every day. Praise Your holy name for another day.
