Holy Frustration!?!?

Have you ever felt frustration that builds inside because you know your calling and you know the promises for your life, but you’re not exactly living it out? The definition of frustration is “a deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs” (Merriam-Webster, 2021). When you combine the promises of God and a deep sense of unfulfillment, I like to call it Holy frustration. You’re welcome, I just diagnosed you LOL

Since you’re frustrated, shout👏🏽it👏🏽out👏🏽 if you need to… HOLY FRUSTRATION!!!!!

Ok, feel better now? No? Then, let’s keep going.

I LOVE that God speaks to us. I LOVE that He cares so much about us that He would take the time to speak words of encouragement, comfort, and promise into our lives. It feels AMAZING when you know He has spoken right into the broken places of your heart. Right at the exact moment you needed to hear it. You feel like you’re an only child, solely loved and adored by your Heavenly Father! No place I’d rather be! And you are soooooo excited. You replay those words over and over and each time it brings a smile to your face and a spark to your heart.

BUT THEN (oh no, there is a BUT THEN…..)

BUT THEN, time passes. Maybe lots of time. Time we can never get back. Time we are losing. What God told you doesn’t seem to be happening and those same promises that brought you so much joy and excitement are bringing worry and doubt to your heart. Did you really hear what you thought God told you? Did you misunderstand? Was that promise meant for someone else? Is there something wrong with you and that’s why it’s not happening? Were you disobedient? What could it be God? What could it be?

What are you waiting for? A spouse? A friend? A baby? A career? Salvation for your family? A ministry? Direction? We all wait for something.

All the feels ladies, all the feels (😩😖😡😭)

I wonder if that is what David felt when he was anointed king of Israel after being pulled out from the field as a shepherd boy (1 Samuel 16). He was overlooked by his father and brothers, BUT GOD remembered him. I wonder what that moment was like for him when Samuel the prophet anointed him with oil and then walked back to the field to tend the sheep? He must have been overcome with excitement and awe that God chose him.

Then God provides an opportunity to bring him to the palace to play the harp for Saul, the current king of Israel, who was being tormented by a spirit. He saw God moving and fulfilling the promise in his life. David is feeling good! All is well, Saul loved David and he was promoted from musician to an armor bearer. Again another opportunity to move in the direction of his promise of becoming king of Israel. Then David kills Goliath and the giant goes tumbling down. David is so satisfied to see what God is doing. Another step closer to being king! David is becoming famous amongst the people and Saul becomes angry and believes the people will make David king one day (1 Samuel 18: 8-9). Saul wasn’t wrong. Even he could see God’s anointing on David's life. Jealousy crept in his heart and he attacks David and David escapes….twice! Was David overcome with frustration then? Was he thinking “God you called me here, you placed me here, I’m anointed to lead, but now I'm running for my life?” I can imagine he asked the question I often ask myself, “What is happening here?”

Or how about when Saul appoints him to lead 1,000 men in battle? Again, David sees what God is doing! Saul promises David his daughter in marriage and WOW it’s finally happening, David thinks! But really Saul sends him to battle so he can be killed. When the time came for Saul to give David his daughter in marriage, Saul gave her to someone else in marriage. Saul had broken his promise. Was David feeling Holy frustration then? Was he frustrated with God because he knew he was anointed to be there, but his circumstances did not look like what he thought? Was he frustrated he had to prove his worth to Saul, to marry his other daughter, and bring him 100 Philistine foreskins? Maybe he was frustrated of having to prove himself again, after God already called and anointed him. Maybe that’s why David brought him 200 Philistine foreskins! We can go on and on about David and how he kept running from Saul because he tried to kill him so many times. But, David persevered and remained believing God’s promises for his life even when it was at stake. Can we say Holy frustration?

David teaches us that only a deep personal relationship with God is the cure for frustration! The Bible says that David earnestly searched for God. His soul was thirsty for the Lord because His presence is the only thing that could quench that desire. Frustration stems from unfulfillment and God is the only thing that brings true fulfillment. The things of this world can’t fulfill you, but Jesus said, “those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life” (John 4: 14, NLT).

David teaches us that God never breaks a promise and it is truly in His timing. Why worry when God has it all under control? If he said it, it will happen. Maybe not the way we think, but it will. David had nothing to worry about because the Lord told him in Psalm 89: 34-35, “No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said. I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I cannot lie” (NLT). God CANNOT lie! Don’t you love that too? He is faithful and that has to be our focus. David eventually becomes King of Israel. Those years he spent running from King Saul were not wasted. Each incident was a learning lesson. God was teaching him to overcome adversity, to persevere, to keep believing and trusting God even when eyes told a different story.

David teaches us to rest in the Lord! David tells us in Psalm 23 that the Lord provides. He lets us rest in Him. He guides and renews our strength. David is telling us that a life with the Lord is truly all we will ever need and when we rest in Him, frustration will flee.

I hope this blesses you as much as it has blessed me! Take some time to reflect and journal about the questions below. Look up the verses and let God speak to you!

With Love,

Pastor Jessica

SHARE what God is doing in your life in the comments. If you LOVE this post, SHARE with your friends on social media!

GROWTH THROUGH SELF-REFLECTION

• What are you frustrated about?

• How long have you been frustrated?

• Has frustration caused you to act in a way that is out of character for you?

• Have you, intentionally, presented this frustration to God?

• Have you surrendered this frustration to God?

• Are you allowing God to take the burden and renew your strength?

• Have you rested in the Lord? (Meaning, are you at peace knowing God has it under control?)

• If you never received what you are waiting for, Is God enough for you?

GOD’S TRUTH

• Hebrews 6: 18

• Numbers 23: 19

• 1 Samuel 15: 29

• Psalm 89: 34-35

• Psalm 37: 1-9

• Psalm 23

• Philippians 4: 10-14

• John 4: 14

• 1 Samuel 16-18

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Frustration. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved June 5, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frustrationon