Whatever you hold onto has a hold on you. “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3 NLT).
Next to worrying, frustration is the other major culprit that steals the joy from our lives. We often think we have no recourse to overcome it because it is almost always caused by other people. It is true that you can rarely change how others treat you, but you can decide how you will respond.
People can only frustrate you as much as you’re willing to let them. “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32 NLT).
Frustration is a response and not a condition. Frustration is a choice and not a conclusion. Frustration is the place you go to complain about whatever circumstance you find yourself in. It is a place far from God because He is not even included in the equation.
You can choose to be thankful or to complain, and your choice is the life that you live. “In every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 AMP).
The alternative to being frustrated in your circumstances is giving the Lord your problems and trusting Him to help you. You can either be frustrated with the problem or calmly trusting in the Lord to help you. The Lord will often make you wait to see how much you trust Him.
Sometimes God makes us wait to see if we will. “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18 ESV).
You don’t have to live a life of being frustrated. You are the one who decides whether you will have freedom from frustration. When once you decide to give your frustrations to the Lord, then you will no longer be held hostage by them. You can be free from the tyranny of yourself.
You wouldn’t get so frustrated about your problems if you didn’t think about them so much. “Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about” (Philippians 4:8 TLB).
Let the Lord lead you on how to deal with things that frustrate you. We are not called to be doormats that are walked on, but we are called to love others, including our enemies. The proper response in every situation is to humbly walk with God and show mercy.
There is more value in overlooking an offense than in responding to it. “Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger, and it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment]” (Proverbs 19:11 AMP).
It is more important that you learn how to deal with your emotions than you change whatever is causing them. The problem you face today will be replaced with another problem tomorrow. But if you learn how to manage your emotions, that will change how you live forever.
Don’t just pray for things to change but pray for God to change you. “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:10-11 NLT).
Managing emotions does not mean we will not have emotions, but only that they won’t manage us. It is perfectly appropriate to have emotional responses, but do we then properly respond to them? The proper response to how we feel is to tell the Lord all about it and ask Him to help.
If you failed to pray, then you’ve failed. “The Lord is close to everyone who prays to him, to all who truly pray to him. He gives those who respect him what they want. He listens when they cry, and he saves them” (Psalm 145:18-19 NCV).
You cannot give a problem to God and still be frustrated by it. You have not really given it to God, or you have yet to trust that God really has it. You hold the key to the prison of your frustrations, and only you can choose to set yourself free.
It’s hard to be frustrated about things you’ve given to the Lord. “Pour out all your worries and stress upon him and leave them there, for he always tenderly cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 TPT).
There are some things that frustrate you anew every day. You start to get frustrated by them before they even happen. You have decided ahead of time that the frustration is coming. Rebuke every thought that causes you to think about the world more than trusting in the Lord.
The more you let go, the less frustrated you will be. “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (Colossians 3:2 NLT).
Be that person who lives free from frustrations such that you will model for others how much the Lord can help them. Let your life be a testimony of the freedom found in Christ and set apart from the world. Be the light in the darkness that others would also be set free.
God will put you in the darkness so that you can be the light. “Once you lived in the dark, but now the Lord has filled you with light. Live as children who have light. Light produces everything that is good, that has God’s approval, and that is true” (Ephesians 5:8-9 NOG).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius
Thank you Paul. I am one who is troubled with frustration at times. I love this article and found it very helpful.
Hi Bonnie, I deal with many frustrations too, and am so blessed when I can learn to give them over to God and be set free from them. Blessings to you! Paul