FRUSTRATIONS
One thing seems to be certain in this world, and that is frustrations. Things have a way of going screwy way too often. Murphy’s Law says, “if anything can go wrong, it will do so at the most awkward time.” (Was Murphy a pessimist or a realist?) At any rate, most informed folks will agree that frustrations are real.
-- The builder – “How can there be so many government rules & regulations, then so many scheduling setbacks?”
-- The Politician – “Why do folks have such good memories & remind me of all my campaign lies?”
-- The brain surgeon – “We have to complete this lobotomy, but the patient keeps waking up.”
-- The school teacher – “How can I teach this class when Johnny keeps disrupting & we can’t discipline him?”
-- The landlord – “You must pay the rent.” Tenant – “I can’t pay the rent.” – (Actually, nonpayment of rent is a small frustration for me – dogs have been #1.)
-- The dancer – “I could dance like a ballerina if it wasn’t for these corns, bunions & big feet.”
-- The motorist – “I just had that pricey gadget fixed and now it’s going out again.”
-- The Italian cruise ship captain – “Just because the ship is taking on tons of water & leaning over, it can’t be sinking – let’s wait a little longer . . .”
Would it be a sin to ask if God has frustrations? If the Bible represents truth, and God has a personality, then we can be sure he suffers frustrations. Grief & sorrow are no new things for the Divine heart. I’m thinking of the fall of the human race (paradise lost) as recorded in Genesis 3. Then the flood of Genesis chap 7. Sodom & Gomorrah chap. 19, burned up for their evil habits. The struggles & battles of early Israel. The failures of later Israel. Then the rejection of their Messiah & destruction of Jerusalem by Roman armies in A.D. 70. All the suffering & pain & death of fallen humanity in just scriptural accounts is a huge quantity – but God has witnessed all the rest too. The sorrows of God are well spoken in Lamentations 1:12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.” (That is also thought to be the state of God’s heart when Christ was offered on the cross for our sin.)
I know it is not possible to fully comprehend God, but we can know what is revealed/recorded. When we consider that God is love & that the world has NOT been a place of peace & love, it is clear that He has a frustrated if not a wounded & broken heart. And that sorrowing heart may shed light on why God engineered the Atonement (from the moment of the fall, Genesis 3:15) which brings man & God together. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
To conclude I would say that frustrations are a part of life because God is also frustrated. He is frustrated with our sin & rebellious natures and wants to show us a better way. Jesus can renew each person that is willing to be transformed. It really is possible to know Christ and experience the upward path. (See Proverbs 4:18) Of course it is comforting to look forward to that place where there will be NO frustrations. For a glimpse of paradise regained, see Revelation 21:3-4. Someone will say, “you have to die to get there.” I would answer, “you have to die anyway, why not die with HOPE?” And if you want to bring pleasure to a great big bleeding Divine heart, Choose Jesus, He is alive. And let His salvation bring the Blessing & melt away some of your frustrations. See “The Blessing & The Curse” Link 66.
Many other Titles: www.gospelnotes.org * * Fred J. Stone * *
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