September 2020
David Hixon • September 11, 2020
Ever feel like screaming?
Frustration. Have you ever experienced frustration in your life? Of course you have, we all have. According to Dictionary.com the word means, “something that frustrates, as an unresolved problem. A feeling of dissatisfaction, often accompanied by anxiety or depression, resulting from unfulfilled needs or unresolved problems.” Unresolved problems…there it is for me many times. I often think Jamaica is the most frustrating place I have ever lived or maybe it’s just where we live and work. Ha. Let me throw out a few recent frustrations.
Just last night I was working on some new tax issues we are working out. I had worked up all the employee pay rates and sent them to our new accountant and he finally had them ready. But let me back up before I finish this story. A month before we had to setup our account with the tax office online. It took three separate attempts and as many long phone conversations over a period of days to finally get it set up. Then when we tried to add our accountant it suddenly locked us out. So we were back on the phone getting a new password before he was able to get on and begin to work. And then as the deadline approached he informed us we needed a certain number. Something called an NIS number. So yesterday we scrambled and with the grace of God fully at work we managed to get the number we needed (truly a miracle that it happened so quickly and with a definite hand from God). And then after all this…back to last night. I get on and struggle to find the “Make Payment” button which was clearly not user friendly. I finally figured it out. I went through all the screens and got to the part where I get to put in the credit card for the home to pay the taxes. For some reason it rejects it. I try again. Same thing. I then pull out my own credit card. Rejected. This is when the frustration hit the boiling point. Ever been there? If so, you know what happens next. No, not profanity, ha. But there was some yelling and screaming about why is EVERYTHING so difficult? And then finally I tried a personal debit card and it went through. PTL!!
(Even as I am trying to write this, I have several interruptions which add to the frustration – Don’t they know my poor brain needs lots of quiet and concentration? Ha)
I could go on with many more examples, but you get the picture. Frustration. Unresolved problems. Maybe today you are frustrated with your kids because they don’t listen to you or do what you want them to do. Maybe it’s your spouse and you’re frustrated because they don’t understand or listen or sympathize. Maybe it’s work and a fellow employee who drives you crazy or a boss who demands more every day. I don’t know about you, but I seem to have a set limit on the number of unresolved problems I can handle at any one moment. I don’t know my exact number, but I do know when the number has been exceeded. We all experience weariness in doing good. We all experience fatigue and frustration even when we know we are right in the middle of God’s calling. “One man once asked D.L. Moody, who worked tirelessly day and night for God, if he was tired of the work to which Moody replied, “I’m tired in the work but I’m not tired of the work” acknowledging that laboring for the Lord is tiring but he never tired of doing work for the Lord. There is a difference and D.L. Moody marked it well.” Even when frustration sets in, we are reminded that God is in control.
Luke 8:22-25 says, “One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a storm of wind came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even wind and water, and they obey him?””
The Gospel tells us they were taking on water, and they woke up Jesus for help. What kind of help were they expecting? Almost certainly it wasn’t the kind of help they got. Maybe it’s possible that they woke him up because they wanted him to take a bucket and bail, buddy, bail! We’re perishing here! Or who knows exactly what they were thinking but I don’t think they believed at this point He could do what He did. But Jesus did not rebuke the disciples. Instead He rebukes the winds and the rain. All is not lost. He has saved the day. He has seen their weakness and He has shown them that He is over every problem and no situation is too big for Him. I read this comment today: “If he’s in your boat, you’re not going to perish. Ever. Even if he doesn’t seem to be showing up. But go ahead, in those moments of frustration overwhelm, tell him that you’re perishing. Then sit back and watch what he does. He can calm it all instantaneously. Let him do it.”
Do you believe that? If you’re like me (I hope you have a better handle on this), I often still struggle. My actions say that I don’t believe. I often feel like the man who cries out to God, help my unbelief. I know this today. Frustration will not go away in Jamaica. And I’m pretty sure your frustration will never be totally conquered. But God always hears our cries. He knows when we are perishing. And He has the power to calm your fears and frustrations … and mine … when I let Him.