WEDNESDAY'S WORD - FRUSTRATE - 12/11/19 - Sadell Bradley

"People don't exist in a vacuum. They're a result of who raised them and who they love and who frustrates them." - Mary Wiseman - American Actress   Did you know that the word FRUSTRATE derives from the Latin frustrat which means disappointed?  The root frustra means 'in vain.' I hope this brings as much understanding to what's going on in your life as it did to mine. We generally look at the meaning of the word FRUSTRATE as - to prevent (a plan or attempted action) from progressing, succeeding, or being fulfilled; to prevent (someone) from doing or achieving something; or to cause (someone) to feel upset or annoyed, typically as a result of being unable to change or achieve something.   I definitely wasn't connecting the emotion of disappointment with my feelings of frustration, but it's so real. To disappoint means to fail to fulfill hopes or expectations. As a younger leader I used to say, "I appoint, and I dis-appoint," and that is, in fact, another definition of that word- to deprive of a position. You might be frustrated today because your hopes have been dashed, you're disappointed about what's going on, or an outcome hasn't quite turned out as you expected.     In Galatians 2:21 Paul makes this statement, "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ is dead in vain." The idea that we could frustrate God's grace; that we could prevent it from progressing or succeeding in achieving its purpose is startling. How could we, in our frail humanity, actually stop the plan of God's free gift of Grace from being fulfilled? By choosing instead to operate from our own righteousness and dead works in a futile attempt to try to keep God's laws. Paul said it this way, "I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down."(vs. 18, NLT) God is calling me to rest in what He's done...but I insist on my own activity. God asks me to trust Him and be undisturbed, even with the foolishness that is going around me, yet I choose to worry and fight. I wonder, how many times I've frustrated and disappointed God by trying to do things my own way, rather than receiving what He desires to give...too many times.