Welcome To The Rodeo: A biblical guide to staying in the saddle when life tries to buck you off

Welcome To The Rodeo: A biblical guide to staying in the saddle when life tries to buck you off


Fighting Frustration

August 12, 2019

Today I want to talk about how we can deal with and fight our frustration.
(Not an a word-for-word transcript – of show)
Why do we get frustrated?
Micah 6:15 – “You will sow but you will not reap”
We don’t want to put up with as much as we used to put up with. We’ve become a sixty-second society. If it doesn’t happen right away, if we don’t get what we want right away then we get cranky. We throw temper tantrums. We get frustrated. We get frustrated with everything . . . with life.
And when we look at frustration, it seems to me like it occurs in too many ways; such as getting our way with others or having things work out the way we want them to work out.
Now that’s very important. Having things work out the way we want. This may be over money issues, work issues, health, or politics. It’s just that we weren’t able to accomplish what it was we thought we would accomplish. Folks aren’t doing what we want them to do, so we get frustrated. We can feel that ‘Grrrr” aggravation building up inside of us. I have thought about this whole thing . . . this whole ‘why’ concept of frustration. The reason we are frustrated is that we have the wrong motives for what we are doing or what we are asking for.
You must understand that God alone knows what is truly in your heart. Ask Him to reveal to you what it is you should be doing, how you should be doing it, or what it is you should be going after.
In James 4:3, we find;
“You ask and do not receive because you ask for the wrong motives, so you may spend it on your pleasures. “
So many times, we have done that. I know in my own life. I want – I want – I want – and I don’t get it. The reason I didn’t get it was that I wasn’t asking for the right reasons. I wasn’t asking for it to glorify God. I was usually asking for it to glorify me. I really didn’t need it. It wasn’t something I really needed. It was just a desire . . . a personal desire.
When we are asking God for things, we should first examine the reason and need. Do we truly need it? Or is it something we just want? There is a huge difference between needing and wanting. Just because you want it right now does not mean you need it right now. I want a prime rib or a filet mignon, I don’t really need one, I can get by with a hamburger or even a turkey burger, but I want one… When we don’t get what we asked for doesn’t mean it is what God wants you to have at that time. This is an important concept to bear in mind. Do you need it to help your family or a loved one? Do you need it to help your children? Or do you need it because others will think you are cool?
I’ve thought a lot about that. I’ve seen people buy a new truck every year. Whether or not they need it, they want it. They want the biggest and the best. They have to have a big television. A large part of our lives is spent trying to impress others. Really, all we need to do is impress God. We need to impress Jesus with how much we love Him. That is what we really need to do.
In addition to not getting what we want and think we need, pain and suffering also contributes to frustration
In Job 10:13-22 – we read about one of Job’s prayers to God. In it, he is talking about how much he has suffered, and you can feel his frustration building up. He says. ‘Yet these things You have concealed in Your heart; I know that this is within You:
14 If I sin, then You would take note of me, And would not acquit me of my guilt.
15 ‘If I am wicked, woe to me! And if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head. I am sated with disgrace and conscious of my misery.
16 ‘Should my head be lifted up, You would hunt me like a lion; And again You would show Your power against me.
17 ‘You renew Your witnesses against me And increase Your anger toward me; Hardship after hardship is with me.
THIS IS WHERE JOB’S FRUSTRATION IS CLEARLY SEEN...