Do you find yourself getting frustrated with what is happening in your life or with other people in your life?
Irritation — Frustration — Indignation
Irritation: Not what I
Frustration: Now you’re me from getting what I want.
Indignation: Now that is just !
Look at Moses
Elie Wiesel has written in Messengers of God…
Moses was “the most solitary and the most powerful hero in biblical history . . . the man who changed the course of history by himself. After him, nothing was the same again.” He goes on: “His passion for social justice, his struggle for national liberation, his triumphs and disappointments, his poetic inspiration, his gifts as a strategist and his organizational genius, his complex relationship with God and God’s people . . . his efforts to reconcile the law with compassion, authority with integrity—no individual ever, anywhere accomplished so much for so many people in so many domains. His influence is boundless.”
Frustration isn’t always , but it always makes life less .
Numbers 20:3-5
New Living Translation
3 The people blamed Moses and said, “If only we had died in the Lord’s presence with our brothers! 4 Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord’s people into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock? 5 Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place? This land has no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates, and no water to drink!”
Numbers 20:6-11
New Living Translation
6 Moses and Aaron turned away from the people and went to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where they fell face down on the ground. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to them, 7 and the Lord said to Moses, 8 “You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock.”
Not problem; it’s God’s problem.
9 So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the Lord. 10 Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. “Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill.
Anger is one letter short of danger.
-Ellenor Roosevelt
Numbers 20:12 New Living Translation
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”
How do we deal with frustration?
1. Focus on things, not things.
What is the story behind my frustration?
Psalm 86:15 (New Living Translation)
15 But you, O Lord,
are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
2. Focus on Things, Not Things
Colossians 3:2 (New Living Translation)
2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
3. Go toward the
Psalm 30:5
New Living Translation
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
You have more life of you than you.
What are things that trigger your frustration?
3 Outcomes of Expression
Be careful little what you see.
Don’t lose sight of Jesus.
In what ways has frustration caused you to lose sight of Jesus?
What things have I missed out on because of my frustration?