What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?

So today I got mad. And I cried for an embarrassingly long amount of time over it.

Did someone die? No. Did a friendship end? Nope.

A friend and I were arranging my brand new writing space, a room I had wanted for a long time. We began to place my books on the closet-turned bookshelf, and as we laid down the last book, boom. Just like the walls of Jerico, it came tumbling down. It seriously ruined my whole day. Now, what does any of this have to do with God? Not a whole lot, but it has more to do with his nemesis. I let the devil rob me of my joy for a good chunk of the day over something so trivial and earthly.

I told everything that had happened with the broken furniture, how I reacted, and how I still felt about it to one of my church leaders (because we are more like family than anything) and she flat out told me that needed to stop tripping. Nowhere in the Bible does it say it isn’t okay to be mad or upset, but it does tell us that in the end, earthly things will have no room in the kingdom of heaven. God’s word also instructs us not to be anxious over anything, but to instead, trust that everything will work out to his glory.

God is trying to teach all of us something, and for me right now, those lessons seem to be joy, peace, and patience. True joy is found in God, and crying over the little inconveniences of life isn’t honoring him; it’s feeding the enemy.

My friend told me, “Really Ali? You’re going to be this upset over something so small? Is that gonna matter when you get up to heaven?’ With a little attitude, I responded with, “ I’m gonna ask God why he allowed this bookshelf to break.’ She laughed and said, “Then God will say ’Ëœdepart from me, you’re petty.’

God knows our hearts desires, but the unfortunate thing is that Satan knows some things about us as well; he knows exactly what to do to make us angry.  I love books, and anything to do with writing, so of course, like the turd he is, he’s gonna go after those areas in my life.

I’m not mad about it anymore, and truth be told I should have just let it roll off my shoulders then and there. No matter what it is that’s got you down in life; bills, a toxic home life, a bad day at work, spilling coffee on your laptop, all of those things, big or small, have no power over us, because we are the children of a God who loves us, knows us better than anyone, and knows what we can and can’t handle in our lives.

Don’t let the devil win. He may know how to attack, but so do you. Make him mad with the way you respond, shake it off, know that things can be fixed, and have an awesome day. The devil can’t win if you don’t play the game.

Thanks, hope all is well!