Our Purpose as Followers of Christ: To Manage Frustration, Not to Eradicate It

Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash

 

As Christians, we all have experienced that unsettling feeling invading our souls when what we believe seems ineffective in the trials of the Here and Now. I call that feeling Frustration, a persistent feature of our walk as disciples of Christ Jesus.

But the persistence of Frustration does not mean we must accept it as OK, as something insurmountable or undefeatable. In humble reliance upon the strength the Spirit of the Triune God gives us, we can learn contentment and, in doing so, we can learn to manage Frustration so that it also may serve the King of Kings, becoming an asset for our spiritual formation instead of an excuse to remain disengaged.

We know that we will face tribulation as long as we stay on this earth. So, discipleship's purpose is not to learn everything and get a perfect score when answering Life's questions. No, its purpose is that we may be transformed by Him to seek to incorporate our lives, messiness included, into the work of Redemption He is doing all around us.

This is the reason we must learn how to manage our Frustration.

If we do not address it, Frustration will render us less and less productive in His Kingdom. 

Then, you may ask, why should we bother to learn contentment and manage Frustration, if the whole thing is not an issue of salvation?

We must learn to manage Frustration...

1. Out of obedience to the Lord.
2. For our own well-being.
3. To delight in the Communion His Beauty provides and secures

More posts are coming to discuss how to actually learn contentment, which is the tool to manage Frustration, but in the meantime, what about you? How do you handle that unsettling feeling when there is a discrepancy between your faith and Life?

-AV