How often do you find yourself getting frustrated? I know for me, the older I get the more often it seems to attack my attitude and response with others as well as in situations that arise out of nowhere. It happens so easily. I can be driving along and come across bumper-to-bumper traffic, which makes me late for a doctor's appointment or my cell phone's battery runs down because I failed to charge it, or someone simply says the wrong thing at the wrong time. I feel sure that you can relate and can probably think of your own experiences like these for yourself.
There’s just no escaping them. All of us, one way or another, must deal with the problem of frustration. No matter what kind of life you lead, plans will go wrong and opportunities will be lost. It’s just the way life is, yet instead of dealing with them properly, sometimes we may choose other options. I read a statement by a social worker that stated that, one of the reasons there is such an increase in drug use today is that people are finding it increasingly difficult to deal with frustration; and this may be very true, because everyone is looking for a way to deal with them.
Frustrations stem from the feelings of being hindered in how we feel about things or what we want to accomplish by some head-on barrier. They can lead us to think we’re victims of our circumstances, but that attitude doesn’t help us overcome them. I am learning that frustrations that exhausts me are the aggravations that wear me down, and they are merely the ordinary annoyances of daily life.
But the root of frustration is not always caused by external circumstances. They are just the triggers. The root of frustration actually comes from inside us. While it seems easier to simply deny, bury, or ignore the true issues, if we don’t face them, they’ll keep hanging around, hindering us, holding our attitudes hostage.
If we are reluctant to deal with past issues or refuse to deal with present impatience, ungodly attitudes or habits we will not be able to escape frustration. Bitterness, resentment, and an unforgiving spirit always result in dissatisfaction and aggravation. The only way out is to admit and repent of these feelings, instead of trying to justify an ungodly response.
In Isaiah 14:27, Isaiah spoke the words concerning when the Assyrians had surrounded Jerusalem, and the people had no hope of survival. But God frustrated the Assyrians’ plans overnight. In the morning the Israelites woke up to discover that the Assyrian soldiers were completely defeated. God has a way of using frustration to help His children out. When the Lord plans something, no one can hinder Him from accomplishing it. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Sometimes God may frustrate our plans in order to redirect our lives as He desires. Sometimes He puts up barriers to hinder us or deflect something that is not good for us and we can’t get past it. At other times He allows us a feeling of frustration that has no explanation. We can’t find the source; it’s simply a sense of uneasiness and those are times that we need simply to wait on God, and Trust that He has a plan in our situation, even if we are running late for a doctor's appointment.
But you can always be assured that God’s teaching purpose in all our frustration is to draw us into a deeper relationship with Him. We’re often so busy that having uninterrupted time alone with the Lord is rare. God uses an obstacle or sense of restlessness to get our attention, so that we can focus on an area of our life that He wants us to address. When this happens, we need to read His Word and seek Him, to understand what He wants to do in our lives. His purpose in all of our weaknesses and shortcomings is to develop us into the fullness of who He created us to be. It’s a purifying process that by degrees and in time conforms us into Christ’s likeness.
Most of us seek to find comfortable places in life and park there and are often reluctant to make a change. But when the Lord wants to move or redirect us, He may use a sense of frustration to start the process. What began as frustration can quickly change to excitement as we anticipate what He will do next and how he will use these as lessons in our lives.
Whether the source of your frustration is God or the exasperating events in your life, the path to peace is the same. First, acknowledge His love for you. Then determine to trust Him, which means depending on and surrendering yourself to Him to do whatever He chooses in your life. He’s a sovereign God with all power who knows you perfectly. He will always guide you on the right path.
Hold Fast, -Bren
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