Have you ever been frustrated when life isn't going your way?
I'm sure we all have.
It's a hot day, you're on your bike. There is one car ahead of you at the light. It is spewing out hot exhaust to add a little zest to the sun that is beating down on you. You stare at the back windshield of the car at the stick figure family, the mom, dad, two kids, a dog and a cat somehow mock you with their little smiling faces when you think that your life did not turn out that way.
What is with those stick families?
It's been a long ride, and you just want to get home.
The light turns green, you pop into first, get ready to move and feel some wind in your face bringing sweet relief
And the driver ahead is committing the unpardonable sin of texting. They don't move, and neither do you.
Stick family still happy and mocking.
You give a little toot on the horn, they look up, and see the light.
And for the next ten minutes or so you don't enjoy the wind, you contemplate the nerve of that driver and their stupid stick family that cause you to wait an extra three seconds. Thoughts of all that has gone wrong in your life, all that is going wrong flood your mind.
"Where are you God?"
Frustration often comes when we have a clear idea of how things should be, and they don't turn out that way. Some of these times are minor, as with the texting driver, others can be much harder and last far longer.
And we wonder where God is in all this.
It may come as surprise to us that God's goal for us is not to give us an easier life. His goal is to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Cor 3:17-18 (NIV)
Although we are not who we used to be, we are not yet who we shall be.
Between being transformed into the image of Jesus and where we are now, lies a road full of all our self centered thinking, nature, habits and sins.
All of that needs to go. All of that needs to die a painful death.
I wear a patch on my vest of three skulls. It's not my idea, I saw it on a Freedom T-shirt. The three skulls are me, myself and I. They need to die.
We have two goals in our life. Our goal for an easier happy life, and God's goal to transform us into the image of His Son. When the two collide, as they often do, the result can be frustration, hurt, and anger on our part.
That is the self, the flesh, the sin nature not wanting to die.
We often ask, "Why are you letting this happen, Lord?" implying that He should not. That's the wrong question. Better to ask, "What are you trying to change in me with this Lord? Help me to see it, help me to act in agreement with who you want me to be."
Being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ; that is more important than anything else in our life. In the end, that is all that matters.
And here is the painful truth. God will allow anything into our life He needs to in order to make that happen. That means pain, that means hardship, and yes even some texting driver slowing us down.
We need to let go of it all, and embrace what God is doing in our life.
Like Preacher Mike often says, "It's easy...but it's hard."
