Frustration can take many forms and can be caused by so many things. It almost seems that people should just absorb the frustrations of this world, but God has promised that we can be free from frustration and can be content and satisfied in Christ Jesus.
We easily get frustrated with relationships, uncontrollable circumstances, unfruitfulness, career problems and even with ourselves. It almost seems as if the whole world is just full of things that are waiting to frustrate us. While we exist in environments that can be out of our control, God assures us over and over again in scripture that there is not one circumstance that does not go according to God's plan.
Genesis 50:20 reminds us, ""As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."
We may have our own plans and things will not always go according to those plans, but the way we respond to times that are out of our control is up to us. Do we respond in frustration and start questioning our identity, purpose and even sometimes God, or do we choose to continue to trust in His unfailing love and His ultimate sovereignty?
In Isaiah 41:13-14, God promises us, "'For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you,' declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."
When faced with frustrating circumstances, do you let those circumstances get into your head and start whispering lies into you? When frustrated, people can often start thinking that God doesn't care about their situation and that their affairs are not significant to God's kingdom. But that is far from the truth.
Because of Jesus Christ and His finished work, we are now considered citizens of God's kingdom and children who belong to God's family. Through Jesus, we have identity and purpose that is established on the faithfulness of our Father and not on our circumstance. So even when circumstances get out of our control, we will know that God is still working because it matters to Him what happens to us and what we do.
God does not set us aside and consider us useless even when times can be unproductive, relationships can be tough or our jobs may seem harder than they should be. God is in control and He takes us into consideration so because of that we need not be frustrated by hard circumstances but actually trust that the Lord makes all things work together for our good.
