You’ve heard it before through exasperated tones, and you’ve probably felt it as well. The thing about frustration is we often get it when we feel challenged or opposed. We blame others, isolate ourselves, and vent our emotions in negative thinking and conversation. We give it life and allow it to fester in our hearts.
As a result, we feel unheard or unloved. Frustration will put us in one camp or another. An ‘Us vs Them’ dynamic develops and we become unknowingly divisive.
It sets in when we see something on one level and cannot seem to attain it. It’s frustrating when a plan or a vision that we have in the Spirit is impeded. We feel hindered from doing or achieving something dear or significant to us.
Truth is, our frustration is often a clue to where our relational adjustment lies. This is a hard lesson to grasp. It may be a sign that we’re carrying prejudice against a person, a group or a particular vision. God allows our preferences, but not our prejudices.
A common mistake is to attach frustration to anyone or anything other than in our own relationship with the Lord. When we channel our frustrations elsewhere, we fail to take responsibility for what’s happening inwardly.
We grow negative because something in us has not been dealt with. Rather than giving opportunity to what God has decreed, we hinder it. We miss the point, miss God, and allow the enemy to work in – and through – us.
Frustration is a sign that God is first dealing with us, searching our hearts. It’s present when patience is not, and reveals a lack of rest, peace and trust. Frustration holds us in the natural and makes wisdom impossible. It arises when we do not have a full experience of the fruit of the Spirit.
Frustration creates tension. There’s no movement without tension. To lift a cup, I must tense my fingers to get a proper grip. Tension does not mean something is wrong. It often means something is happening!
But never allow tension to become friction. The whole point of frustration is to highlight where we need to partner the Holy Spirit so that fresh oil can be poured out.
The effects of prolonged and unaddressed frustration can make us weary and heavy in our approach to God and life and, in turn, allows a negative outlook to control our thoughts, emotions, and actions.
The answer to this malady is not the resolution of the problem itself, but first realising WE may be the problem. Maybe it’s how we view ourselves in the Lord relative to our circumstances.
When we allow the Holy Spirit to deal with our negativity, we’ll encounter the Prince of Peace at a deeper level and be empowered to see what God is really desiring to do.
If you’re feeling the weight of frustration constantly in life, why not let it be a catalyst for growth instead? What you’re sensing is a sign that a greater awareness of destiny and vision is unfolding.
The next phase of the journey is coming into view and how you travel that road is vital to your ongoing development.
