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Thursday, July 11, 2013

Frustrated Much?


I had written and deleted a post about being frustrated.  There was no real conclusion to it.  It was more of a written admission than anything else.  I admitted that I was frustrated in almost every area of my life.  As a mother, as a homeschooler, as a minister/leader in our church, as a daughter.  I was just plain frustrated.

I'm so glad I didn't publish that post before letting God get to me.

Last night I was introduced to the amplified version of a familiar scripture: 1 Peter 5.5

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Likewise, you who are younger and of lesser rank, be subject to the elders (the ministers and spiritual guides of the church)—[giving them due respect and yielding to their counsel]. Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, [b]so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another. For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble.

Pay attention to the second half of that scripture...HE opposes, HE FRUSTRATES, and HE defeats them.

Pride has been a common struggle.  Not the snooty kind of pride that makes you think of Napoleon walking around with his chest poked out, but the type of pride that makes me think I can do it better than God.  The kind of pride that elevates the belief in my ability to a place where I don't need God's assistance.  He's got bigger and better things to do.  The type of pride that sometimes convinces me that my mess is too big for His love.

This revelation shook me a little bit.  It isn't the people in my life frustrating me.  It isn't the enemy frustrating me, but God.  My heavenly father is frustrating me.  He is bringing me to my knees to see His love.  To see that I need to humble myself to Him.  Not because He has a superiority complex, but because He loves me and loves to be in relationship with me.  My humility isn't for shame, I should be confident in my birth right and power to tread on serpents and scorpions.  However, I should also be confident in His love and intentions for me.

If you've already reached this conclusion, then praise God!  If not, and you're journeying with me...let me share some salve that brought tears to my eyes as I returned to my first love once again.

1 Peter 5.7


How amazing is it that the creator of all things cares for me affectionately?  He's crazy about us!

Have you come into any new revelation?  Big or "small"?

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