hope
Today was a day of gladness; tonight has been difficult. A seemingly small event had unleashed a torrent of emotion in me. The day before, my husband and I had received difficult news. Being stirred with faith, during the daylight hours I had grabbed on to the inexplicable determination and joy God placed in my heart—even in that difficult place. As the day turned into evening, though, I didn’t feel victorious. I felt lonely, discouraged, and frustrated.
freely given
At the end of a long day, I took a quick moment to get a jumpstart on my work email—striving to preempt any surprises I might face at 8 o’clock the next morning. Frustration ebbed throughout my tired mind as I read an email that contained complaints and feelings of entitlement from a student known to be immature in his responses to life’s challenges. I wanted to send back a veiled sting of reproach, but instead I crawled into bed to think through my response. Getting to the root of my frustrations, I nixed my first inclinations and seized the opportunity to model grace.
plan B
As a fisherman on Lake Michigan (one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes), I’ve had to change my plans on many occasions. Stormy weather or high waves have forced me to resort to a Plan B: either canceling the trip or limiting my fishing to the safer waters of a harbor or smaller inland lake. It’s not the end of…
writer's block
Writer’s block will wear you out. During a recent bout with it, everything I wrote ended with the electronic equivalent of throwing a crumpled sheet of paper into the ol’ “circular file” (trash can). Any hint of an idea died on the page before I could finish the first paragraph. My brain swam in circles every time my fingers touched…
sustain: to give support or relief to
“Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts sustain you so you would not be in distress?” (Job 36:19 NIV).
“Your frustration with everything, including yourself, makes it possible to turn in deeper dependence [upon God]. Your weariness requires the strength of supernatural love to continue serving [God]. Your haunting sense of futility shuts you up to a kind…
spilled out
As I was grading papers at school one day, I received a text from my husband that read, “we r all n.” When I responded “What?” he explained that he had spilled half a gallon of paint on the carpeting in our home office. Fortunately, the carpet was old, and we were planning on ripping it up anyhow. Now we…
April 19, 2010
Volcanic ash in the atmosphere has caused frustrating flight delays across Europe and beyond. What causes you to feel frustrated, and how does God and His Word affect your response to it?
joy of suffering
In The Call to Joy and Pain, Ajith Fernando writes: “Ministry in Sri Lanka can be quite frustrating. We work hard at planning an event and find that a curfew is announced just before the event is held. . . . Sometimes this frustration becomes so hard to bear that [the workers] leave the country, saying they cannot do the work…
because you are here
"Fine. I'll take care of it myself." With a clipped tone, I ended the conversation and snapped my cell phone shut. Realizing I had done the very thing I had not wanted to do, my frustration increased. Not 30 minutes earlier, I had shared with a friend how God was teaching me to trust my husband's heart rather than reacting.…
