Frustration (noun)

1. The feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals.¹

2. An act of hindering someone’s plans or efforts.

3. That awful sinking sensation in your gut as your eyes dart between the clock, a blinking display reading ‘Paper Jam E-5,’ and the absurdly complex directions on the inside of the copy machine door.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”

                              - Proverbs 19:21, NIV

When you get down to it, the issue of frustration boils down to one thing: plans. The very meaning of the word frustration is to have your plans thwarted. You want to do one thing, but something else gets in your way. It may be as little as trying to make copies or as big as trying to start a career – when you want to do something and it doesn’t work out, you feel frustrated. 

If you think about it, you could avoid frustration altogether if you simply gave up on making plans. Nothing can go wrong if you refuse to define what’s right. Unfortunately however, you’ve got to make some kind of plans or you might not bother to get out of bed in the morning. Our entire lives run on plans of one kind or another. Plan to have breakfast; plan to go to work on time; plan a shortcut to avoid traffic; plan to get a better job so you can pay for the ticket you got on the shortcut on the way to work… it’s all plans. We make them constantly. The question is, why is it so hard to get any of them to work out?

And then there are God’s plans. If we’re going to talk about frustration, we’ve got to come to grips with the striking difference between our plans and God’s. As Christians, we live for God’s plan. We pray and seek and strive to discover just what God has in store for us. We love to quote Jeremiah 29:11 and hear God saying to us, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV). Yet for all our searching, the details of God’s plan for each of us remain a mystery. It would seem that God wants us to be content to simply know that He has one, and to trust that it is good. 

I Plan, God Laughs

Discovering God’s plan for my life is not easy, but there is one thing I can tell you about it for sure. Whatever God’s plan is, it is not the same as mine. Not entirely anyway. There are two distinctions that clearly set my plans apart from God’s. First of all, mine are easier. Much easier. Second, my plans don’t usually work out. Not the way I want them to anyhow. God doesn’t have that problem. His plans never fail. They can’t fail. As I understand things, it’s a physical impossibility.  

The real challenge for you and I is knowing whose plan we are working with today. A plan is like a prophecy – sometimes the only way to know whether or not it came from God is to wait and see if it works out. If it fails, guess who’s idea it was. 

On second thought, so what if it doesn’t work out. So what if you fail. Does that always mean that God wasn’t in it? Maybe your plans were the same as God’s, but your goals were different. After all, God doesn’t value the same things that we do. We want success for today, but God values the things that last – stuff like faith, hope and love. God may call you to venture into a complete failure simply to build character. You could feel frustrated with the outcome while God feels quite satisfied. Let’s say you go out for the football team. Maybe you didn’t make the team – but God did some powerful work on your heart during tryouts. Who can put a value on that?

Our plans are easier. God’s plan is better.

It Comes Down to Trust

When we’re talking about plans, the heart of the matter is always trust. Will you trust God when life doesn’t work out the way you want it to? I am convinced that most of life’s frustrations are really lessons in trusting God. If you read the Bible, it doesn’t take long to realize that God is big on trust. I challenge you to find one Bible hero who didn’t go through some major trials to build up their faith. 

As Christians, we trust and believe that God always has something good planned for us. Actually, Christians are very funny this way. Just watch one of us. When life doesn’t work out the way he wants it to, he’ll say something like, “Well, God must have something better in store.” If something bad happens to a Christian, she will tell you that she is convinced that God must have allowed it to save her from something worse. We have this wonderful determination to believe that God is still in control of our crazy mixed up lives no matter what happens to them. 

That kind of a stubborn faith is a beautiful thing. Nonetheless, I would warn you to be careful about just what it is that you trust God for. If you believe that God closed the door on this job “because He must have a higher paying job in store for me,” then you are really limiting God. Since when is a bigger paycheck the most valuable thing God can give you? Maybe God has a lower paying job that will teach you humility and force you to rely on Him every day. Maybe He has wonderful trials in store for you that will build up a faith that is more valuable than pure gold – and far more enduring (1st Peter 1:7). 

One of the great keys to enduring frustration is to change what you value. When you learn to value the things that God does (more…)

I want to introduce a new topic of discussion here on the Bible Sherpa blog: Frustration. Why did God make life so frustrating?

Okay, this is a pretty big topic. I have actually been working on it for a while now. I even put together a book idea. One of my preliminary subtitles was “The Theology of Murphy’s Law.” You know the rule, if anything can go wrong, it will. The law is as widely accepted as gravity. Life is unceasingly frustrating. But what causes it? If God is in control… and if His plans for me are always good… then why is it that my plans never seem to work out?

For the record, I don’t recommend attempting to write a book about Murphy’s Law. Apparently old man Murphy declares open season on anyone fool enough to attempt to unravel the mysteries of his infamous law. The other day I called up the bank to follow up on a form that I had sent them in March. For about an hour, I was sent on a toll-free wild goose chase of 800 and 866 phone numbers and on-hold-elevator-music. “I’m sorry sir, this is the wrong department for your question. I will connect you with the refinance department. Hold please…” “Wait! I just talked to them! And they sent me to you!” Elevator music again. Too late. 

 Now I realize that this stuff happens to all of us, and it should come as no surprise (though I was a little surprised when I received two jury summons in the same month this year). What I want to know is why it happens; and I want to know where my faith in God fits in. 

Some of the frustrations are our own fault, to be sure. If you make foolish decisions, life will be more difficult. If you buy a fixer-up ‘93 Yugo, you shouldn’t expect to get to work on time every day. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the stuff that you just can’t control: traffic jams at the worst possible time; copy machines that run out of ink only on the day that important papers are due; that kind of stuff. Why does it happen, and how are we supposed to respond in faith?

So that’s my new topic. I have thought about this a great deal, and I have searched the Bible for answers. You may be surprised to find out just how much the Bible has to say about frustration. After all, we’re talking about one of the most consistent elements of life here. Our plans are constantly being foiled. Sometimes it’s big stuff, most of the time it’s just little – but whatever the case, things rarely work out the way we want them to. I am convinced that God is still in control, and that He has a very good reason for all of it. I won’t start in on any of the answers I have found just yet – but I will give you this one verse. It’s a big one, so it takes a careful read to really get it. When you do get it, a lot of life’s little perplexities begin to make more sense. Here’s the verse…

“For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” 

- Romans 8:20-21

Well, that’s it for today. As we continue with this topic, we’ll unravel that verse, and we’ll tackle questions like “Why does frustration bring out the worst in us?” and “How do I learn to trust God’s plans when none of my plans seem to work out?” I look forward to getting your input on this as well. Please send me your thoughts and ideas. Most importantly, send me some good frustration stories. They’re good for a laugh, and they’re even better for helping me write a good book! Until next time…

Always in the unfailing love of Christ, 

- Pastor Kris  ( 8-D=

Hello faithful Bible Sherpa readers! This note is a quick apology for my temporary leave of absence. Sometimes other things in life take precedence over a blog. I know – it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. So here’s an update on what’s going on with me that has taken all of my focus of late:

1) I am now the senior pastor at Calvary Chapel Bay St. Louis. How exciting is that?! Sunday morning May 10th I preached my first message as the church’s pastor. I am so thankful to serve God with such amazing people in the midst of an awesome work of God’s love and power. Seriously, I love my church. Pastor Frank Griffin served faithfully with great integrity and sincere love over the past few years, and I am honored to take the baton and run the next leg of this awesome race. Thanks to all of you for caring and thanks for praying for me! If you ever find yourself in South Mississippi, come and enjoy some good old fashion southern hospitality at one of the friendliest churches you’ll find anywhere.

2) I just sent in my very first book proposal to a publishing house. Yes, it was the same week as the pastoral change. It’s been a busy week! The book is called, “Why Did God Make Life So Frustrating?” It’s about (more…)

The Top Seven Love Lies of the World

Debunking the most common myths about love and marriage & searching for the reality of true love

Love Lie #4: You Complete Me

After a short hiatus, we are back on the love lie countdown. We are up to number four. Once again I want to remind you that the love lies on this countdown are not all 100% lie. In fact, I would say that today’s idea is mostly true. It even has some Biblical backing to it. Let’s take a look…

The Idea: Every man and woman is somehow incomplete inside, and needs that one magical person to make them whole again. 

The Source: This lovely romantic notion was made popular by Tom Cruise in the nineties box office hit, Jerry McGuire. However, the idea has been around for ages. You can trace this all the way back to the day God took a rib out of Adam’s chest to make a bride for him. When a husband and a wife come together, the Bible says that they make one flesh. So this “you complete me” idea makes a lot of sense. After all, the feeling of loneliness can be an awful lot like having a hole in your heart (does anyone besides me remember the Cyndi Lauper song, There’s a Hole In My Heart that Goes All the Way to China? Boy was that an oversight in the ridiculous love song countdown!)

The Verdict: I’d say this one is partially true, but it’s missing something (sort of like our hearts). Finding your one true love does fill a void inside – but it’s just not enough. You’re still not quite whole.

The Bible:  “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet no man can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV, emphasis added).

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy.” - Ephesians 5:25-26 (NIV, emphasis added)

The Truth: Yes, it is true that when bride and groom come together, they become one. Yes, it is true that finding that one magical person can make that empty feeling in your heart go away – but not completely. As I said, this one is mostly true. The problem is that every one of us is missing too much for any other person to fill, no matter how magical they are. I know this from personal experience (see My Story below). Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God took the trouble to set eternity in each of our hearts. Now that’s a big hole! In fact,it is a God shaped hole. Only God can fill the true void in your heart. Only Jesus can make us whole (and only in the English language can the word hole and the word whole mean such wholly different things). 

That brings me to one of the most important words in the english language: holy. Sadly, it has largely lost its meaning for most of us. Holy has two essential meanings that work together. Holy means 1) whole or complete; and 2) set apart for a special purpose. Jesus gave up His life to make us holy (Ephesians 5:26 & Hebrews 13:12). He set us apart for a special purpose, and only He can make us complete.  

My Story: I am quite familiar with the feeling of a hole in the heart. It was my constant companion for several lonely years. Oh I had good friends and good family, but I just knew I was missing something.  For years I thought, “If I just met the right girl, everything would be okay.” Well, at long last, I met her (more…)

Welcome back to the Bible Sherpa. I have to apologize for not posting any updates for the last couple weeks. I have been trying to focus my time and attention on getting the podcast and the Bible Guides going (don’t forget that the really good stuff on this website is still yet to come!). Sometimes you just gotta focus on one thing at a time. I do still owe you all the rest of the Love Lie countdown, and of course the results of the most ridiculous love songs vote. For now I just wanted to point out that I updated the Author Bio. Since Google Analytics tells me that most of you never take the time to read the Author Bio, I thought you might enjoy this fun little excerpt….

The tricky business of asking for a testimonial…

So I was thinking to myself, “Hey Kris (that’s what I call myself when I’m thinking), what if someone comes to check out your website and they’ve never met you before and they just don’t know if they can trust you. You could tell them that you are someone they can trust, but that’s pretty weak – anyone could say that about himself. Why don’t you ask someone for a testimonial about you.” (A testimonial is a quote from someone who knows you, who vouches for you and basically tells people that you rock and they should buy your book or whatever).

Now this is sort of a funny business, asking for a testimonial. It’s sort of like saying, “Hey, would you say really nice things about me so I can tell everyone how awesome you think I am?” On the other hand, you folks need to know if you can trust me, (more…)

The Top Seven Love Lies of the World (cont.)

Debunking the most common myths about love and marriage & searching for the reality of true love

Definitely not the Greatest Love of All

 

 It’s Valentine’s Day and the Bible Sherpa is back with a special holiday treat. Think of this blog post like a conversation heart – a really big one with a whole bunch of words. Okay, that didn’t even make sense. Let’s get to the point, shall we. Today we are up to number five in the big countdown.  Drumroll please…

Love Lie #5: You Can’t Love Someone Else Until You Learn to Love Yourself (aka the Importance of Self Esteem)

The Idea: You cannot truly learn to love others until you first learn to love yourself. Generally, this is presented as a self esteem issue. Basically they tell you that you must first feel good about yourself before you can show any real care for others. 

The Source: This one is rooted in modern psychology, which puts a major emphasis on self image and self esteem. I heard this idea repeatedly from my elementary school teachers. The idea has found it’s way into pop-culture as well, to the point that it has become a generally accepted idea in America’s cultural understanding. (You may also remember this lie from a song that I sang at my sixth grade graduation – see the Top 7 most ridiculous love songs post for details).

The Verdict: While low self esteem will affect your relationships with others, a high self esteem is not the solution. Whether it is low or high, self-esteem is still self-centered. True love is others-centered (you may notice this is becoming a common thread here in our love lie countdown). The kind of esteem you really need is God-esteem – to see yourself through God’s eyes. 

The Bible:  “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” – 2nd Timothy 3:1-4 NIV

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” - Philippians 2:3 NLT (also translated “esteem others higher than yourself”)

“Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” – Romans 12:3b NLT

The Truth: The premise behind love lie #5 is true: if you don’t feel good about yourself, you will probably have trouble being nice to others. According to the worldly lie, however, you can solve this problem by learning to love yourself. Not a good idea. That only puts more focus on you. You already spend enough time thinking about yourself, you don’t need more. The verse in 2nd Timothy 3 (above) tells us that the last days will be full of people who love themselves – and it is definitely not a good thing. 

The Real Solution: When it comes to your love, the Bible calls you to focus on two things: (more…)

The Top Seven Love Lies of the World

Debunking the myths about love & marriage. Searching for the reality of true love

Love Lie #6: Get Married Because You’re In Love

Step 1 & Step 2

Welcome back to the Bible Sherpa. Valentine’s Day is getting closer and we are at love lie number six in the big countdown. Today’s lie may surprise you. Keep in mind that the most effective lies are not 100% lie – they are truth mixed with lie. Let’s see what today’s lie has in store for us.

THE IDEA: One should marry the person they are in love with.

THE SOURCE: About a million books and movies, from Aladdin to Shrek (and just about every other movie that involves a princess), extols the importance of marrying the one you love. Apparently the arranged marriage thing is the bane of the princess’ lifestyle. 

THE VERDICT: This is not so much a lie as it is twisted truth. It is true that love and marriage should be inextricably connected. However, the world has set that connection in reverse. The idea of marrying for love is just fine up through your wedding day. But that only gives you instructions for one day. What should you do after that?

THE BIBLE:  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” – Ephesians 5:25 

“Then they (the older women) can train the younger women to love their husbands and children.” – Titus 2:4 

THE TRUTH: The world says marry because you are in love. The Bible says love because you are in marriage. The world has it backwards. According to the world, you get married because you’re in love. By that way of thinking, love is a condition and marriage is a choice. While that may work just fine on the wedding day, what really matters happens after the wedding – and every day for the rest of your life. God says give love because you’re in marriage. Marriage is the condition; love is the choice. 

THE REAL LIE: The real lie in this idea is hidden. It is tucked away in the unspoken next step: what happens when a couple is married, but no longer in love? They get un-married of course. Bad idea. Go back to the Word of God and you’ll find His design.

THE DETAILS: As you can see, this idea is closely tied with love lie #7 (falling in and out of love). If you haven’t read that one yet, you might want to go back and read that first. If you have read it, let’s dig into this one a little deeper…  

(more…)

Let’s face it, some people just love cheese. Some of the most famous love songs of all time are just plain cheesy. Or even if the song isn’t cheesy, the lyrics are ridiculous. So, as a bonus edition in our series on love, I decided to do something totally for the fun of it.  In our main series, we’re covering the top 7 all time love lies. But for today, let’s take on ….

THE TOP SEVEN MOST RIDICULOUS LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME

I’ll start off with a few of my nominations, then it’s up to you. Send in your comments with your choices. Either choose some of mine, or pick your own.  

Mmmmm.... cheese.

You’ll probably notice that most of my songs are from the eighties. That is partly because the eighties were full of amazingly cheesy love songs, but mostly because that’s when I grew up. What that really means is that I need your help! Send in your suggestions from any decade. I’ll put them together and come up with the top ten all time. For now, here are my nominations…. (Drum roll, please)…

Nominee #1 Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benetar

The intro is classic, “We are young. Heartache to heartache, we stand. No promises. No demands. Love is a battlefield.”  WHAT?!?!? I honestly don’t have a clue what this song is about. But I still love it. I like to write the lyrics on wedding cards for young couples, just to sound profound. Come to think of it, I think I’ll call up Magic 104 and dedicate this song to my lovely Andrea right now… We are strong! No one can tell us we’re wroooong. Searching our hearts for so looo-ooooo-oooo-oooong. Love is a battlefield.

Nominee #2 The Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston

When I graduated from elementary school in 1986, every sixth grade kid in the country was learning to sing this song for their promotion ceremony. “I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.” Sounds nice enough, doesn’t it?  But wait until you get to the magnificent conclusion (more…)

The World’s Top Seven Love Lies:  #7 Fall In Love, Fall Out of Love

Valentine’s Day is on the way and we’re talking about love again. In honor of that noteworthy saint of old and the day that honors his name, we’re counting down the top seven lies that the world tells you about love (you may want to read the intro posted January 28). Our hope is to debunk the myths and find the nature of true love as God designed it. Our guide, as always, is the Bible. So without further ado, I give you love lie #7.

The Idea: Love is something you fall into, and sometimes fall out of. You can’t control it, it just happens to you.

Why do fools fall in love?

The Source: This idea comes in large part from the language that we use. It’s a phrase that’s been around for ages. It’s a fitting one though, because many of us have had this very experience. Finding romantic love is a rush, and the sensation is not unlike falling.  

The Verdict: Part truth, part lie. The idea is only true for one kind of love – but not for the sort of love that really counts. You can’t fall into true love, and you definitely can’t fall out of it.

The Bible:  “This is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” - 1st John 3:16

 “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but in actions and in truth.” - 1st John 3:18

The Truth: The only kind of love than you can fall into is a feeling. It’s sort of a tingly, joyful sensation; sometimes described as butterflies inside.  While the feeling of love is fantastic and surely a gift from God, it can be deceving. What’s more, it’s not what the Bible calls for. 1st John 3:18 tells us that the deceptive sort of love is all talk, “love with words or tongue.” The real thing is love “in actions and in truth.” That’s the love that you can’t just fall into and out of. It’s a choice, an action, a sacrifice. “This is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.”

The Details: I like that verse in 1st John 3:18 because it talks about a love that is “in truth.” Maybe it has a little clue about that elusive true love that we’re searching for. Let’s dig a little deeper. (more…)

Debunking the Most Common Myths about Love and Marriage

In honor of Valentine’s day, I propose a question: Do you believe in true love?

That’s a tough question for some. I guess it depends on what you mean by “true.” It also depends on what sort of love you’re talking about. For now, lets say we’re talking about the romantic sort. Is there a real deal when it comes to love and marriage?  A lot of folks would say that it just doesn’t exist. At least, they’ve never seen it in real life. They write off true love as the invention of the clever folks at the greeting card companies – or maybe the people who make those little conversation heart candies. God knows they make a pretty penny off of our silly romantic notions this time of year.  

Kris & Andrea circa 2001. Was it the real thing - or did she just love me for my hair?

On the other hand, there seems to be something inside of us that just longs for true love. We feel like there just has to be something to this idea. Why else would so many people spend their hard earned money on absurdly cheesy romantic comedies?  What are we all watching for? Are we searching for some hint of the real thing? And if we’re all searching for it, why is it so hard to find?

The Opposite of True  Perhaps the real problem is lies – love lies. If there is such a thing as true love, then it is by its very nature true. What is the enemy of truth? Lies, of course. When it comes to love, (more…)