This may be hard to believe…but this week I had a temper tantrum. You may think that I am joking- but by the end of my “moment” I looked around and realized that I was sitting on the floor, looking up at my husband, with my legs and arms crossed, in a bit of a meltdown. I have been known to have a short fuse, mainly at times when I am trying to root through a cupboard, grasping for a pot or pan, while other appliances fall all around me. It is not unusual for me to bark with a red face, while blaming it all on my husband. This time, my tantrum was a little deeper. More situational, and based around my circumstance.
Have you ever been faced with a situation, where you just want to take control of it? That no matter what the outcome may be for yourself, you would rather just blow up before you can even see how things pan out? That was my problem. On a regular basis you can hear me say things to Matt like “But, that’s not right… it’s not fair… we don’t deserve that… how can you let them treat you like that… yadda yadda yadda.” You can go down the line in your head, of other sayings that come along when you feel mistreated, or you have a need to feel justified.
After 20 minutes of back and forth discussion, which only bred more frustration, I exclaimed, “Well, I’m NOT going to take that! I will NOT be treated like that!” My husband in all his wisdom looked at me and said “Why not? Jesus did.” Ouch. The conversation diffused from there… mainly because I could hear the music to American Idol starting, and I had to go.
See, God knows how to deal with me. He knows me personally, and He always gives me the answer and the peace I need, when I am accepting to them. The next morning, with resolve in my heart, I decided that I was going to take steps to be positive, and believe that God was in control. First, was to start the day off right- So, the obvious decision was the watch my PVR’d episode of Joyce Meyer. Look at the verse that she was speaking on:
“Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.” Philippians 1:28-29
I laughed as she was talking because she said that her husband always gets mad when she doesn’t read verse 29, which he believes holds the impact. I agree. That was the statement that hit home for me. We have the privilege of not only trusting in Christ, but the privilege of suffering for Him too. Just like Matt said to me “Why not?” Why shouldn’t you go through hard times and have to lean on God? Why shouldn’t you live life with ups and downs, and issues? Why shouldn’t you go through life with people disliking you? This is all a part of life. And the Bible tells us that it is going to happen. In those moments, peace fell on me. I had never even noticed that passage before, and I thank God for his comfort.
For those of you that are close to me, you would know that in the past, if I get upset, or I have chosen to be offended about something, it can take me weeks, or even months to get over it. I will tell you, this issue, and feeling of suffering and pain, could have stuck with me for months, if I let it. I am choosing not to. I think about it now, only a few days later, and I think about it with peace in my heart, and expectancy for what God is going to do in the midst of it.
I encourage you that when you are going through something difficult, and you feel like you are in suffering, you will get through it. The Bible says that life as a Christian will never be easy, but it will be the best life. I can account to that. I wouldn’t trade this roller coaster ride for anything. Every time I hit a low point, or face something not so pleasing, I am just waiting for the next great thing that God has in store, because He is usually preparing me for something new. The truth is, He is waiting to see how we respond to our trials, and what we do with them when they come. I have learned that I can either let things sit in my heart, and make it hard, or I can get over them quickly, and allow God to use them for his purposes, even if it means some pain in the process.
If you look further on in Philippians, in chapter 2, Paul goes on to remind us of this:
You must have the same attitude that Christ had:
Though He was God, He did no think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up his divine privileges and took the humble position of a slave and was born a human being.
When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated Him to the places of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names;
That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
At times it may feel like we are bring mistreated, and feel that because we are Christians God should make everything “good” for us. The truth is, he doesn’t owe us anything. He already gave us His most precious gift, and Jesus was the greatest example of a human being who was mistreated.
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