No Longer Frustrated
I love woodworking, but I am not an expert. I can’t cut a straight line, and seldom measure the same way twice. Recently, while working in my shop, I was building a chest and trying to do it perfectly. Still, no matter how hard I tried, I could not cut the boards correctly. They were either too short, too long, crooked, or the angles were wrong. I was getting frustrated.
Then I stopped talking to the wood and had a stern conversation with myself. I told myself, “You are doing this because you enjoy it. If you are not enjoying why are you doing it?” With that thought in mind, I decided to just relax and not try so hard.
No Longer Frustrated
From then on, everything seemed to go smoother. Yes, I still make mistakes. Cuts are often crooked, and angles are sometimes wrong. My work is full of imperfections. But I no longer stress about it. I choose to let the imperfections be part of the character and beauty of the work. No longer do I concern myself with what others might say. I simply do what I do for the joy of doing it. And I refuse to be frustrated.
Recently, my daily Bible reading had me in Numbers chapter 28. As I read, I thought about how frustrated the people must have been as they tried to please God. They had laws to keep that they could never keep. So they had to make many sacrifices to atone for the laws they constantly broke. They were imperfect people trying to be perfect. They lived their lives trying to please God. But they never could, no matter how hard they tried.
For many people, worshiping God is frustrating and no fun. If this is you, then stop trying so hard. Relax, rest in God. Love Him with all your heart, soul, might, and mind. I thank God there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ. The Spirit of life is in Jesus, and He has set us free from the laws we can’t keep. In the past, we tried to please God, but we are imperfect and can’t. So let us stop trying to please God. Let us simply love Him with the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in us. Then we will no longer be frustrated.
Douglas & Deborah Huff
From Down Where the Pavement Ends
Email-douglas@pavementendsministry.com
From the Bible
“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:23-27 NKJV
