In 1988, I'd been using vi (vomit incessantly) for 3 years. I had a light day, so I fired up the Emacs. It was a confusing day figuring things out. I was taking an AI class, so the LISP intrigued me. I just did C to start though. Wrote a short program. Figured out how to run gcc etc from Emacs. Figured out how to run the Makefile from Emacs. So, small step by small step.
Do small programs in your preferred language. Figure out how to compile/run/debug them. Try writing a small program in a weird language. That might make you need to learn elisp. Don't be scared of it. Keep going.
Write programs and curse a lot that you have to look up that key combo again. And again. It will sink in.