Why Am I Frustrated?

Do you ever have those days where frustration is the only feeling you can feel because nothing seems to be going right? Do you ever stop and ask the question - "Why am I frustrated?" There will be days where I'll be angry and frustrated at something and I can't even seem to trigger where the frustration initiated from...

The truth is, the more selfish we are - and the more self centered our thoughts are - the more frustrated we become when those things don't work out the way we want them to. A lot of times, frustration is generated from selfishness.

James writes in James 4:1-2 "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desire for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covert and cannot obtain..."

James is telling us here that these angers and the wars and frustrations we have, they're all because of lusts and envy that take place within us. - Things that we lust after that we cannot have. Again (This goes back to a few days ago) when we make it "about us," we lose sight of what our life as a Christian is all about. It's not about us, it's about glorifying God in Heaven. Think about your life. If you find yourself constantly getting angry and frustrated with things because they're not going "your way" - you should take a step back and reevaluate what it is you are seeking. God is going to provide for us and take care of every one of our needs (Matt. 6:25) - There's no need to get frustrated when we have that in mind.

The Valley Of Decision

We're faced with spiritual decisions everyday. Sometimes some can be harder than others. And sometimes our decisions have a huge impact on the course of our life.

As Christians, we're faced with two roads to go down. In Matthew 7:13, Jesus says, "Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to like, and there are few who find it. "

Our goal is to make it Heaven at the end of this earthly life. But how serious are we about it? The road to Heaven is not an easy one. We're constantly going to be faced with challenges and distractions from Satan along the way. Satan wants us to go down the broad road that Jesus talks about here in Matthew - in fact, he (satan) makes it very easy and inviting. And as a result, more people go down that road. As Jesus says in that passage, "... broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go by it..."

You know, it's very easy to get discouraged and say to yourself, "I'm so different from everybody else around me and I don't fit in because I don't talk like them or have the same values or morals as they do..." But that can and should be turned into something that we praise God for. We shouldn't be like everybody else and we shouldn't want to be either... because those people are taking the broad and inviting way that is leading to destruction.

As Christians, we have to take the narrow and difficult path. But God will always be on our side and He'll be right there with us if we choose to walk down His road.

Our Speech

Eph. 4:29 "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."

The way we conduct our speech is an extremely important aspect of being a Christ-like example. Next to the way we look and dress, the words that come out of our mouth are often one of the first things people judge us by. We have such an opportunity to show Christ to others with the way we talk. That doesn't mean that we're going around preaching the Gospel in every sentence, but we can certainly reflect reflect God in the things that we choose to say - and the things that we choose NOT to say.

Profane language is one of the most difficult things to guard ourselves against. It's everywhere; TV, movies, music, signs and advertisements, everyday speech among friends, etc.... In fact, most people in the world today probably don't consider the "bad words" they are saying to even be bad words. But if we surround ourselves with that kind of talking for long enough, we too will become jaded and it won't be a big deal to us. And it's not only bad language or 'curse words' that we must watch out for, it can be anything from insults to angry words to gossip. One thing that Paul says in that verse in Ephesians that really sticks with me is when he says, "... That it may impart grace to the hearers." The way we talk needs to impart grace to those who are listening. And profanity, gossip, backbiting, etc - these aren't things that do that.

James tells us in James 3:8 that the tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. We have to be careful with such a powerful tool.

Speak in a way that glorifies God.