Are you frustrated? Pray to God
Lord, I ask for your help in handling my anger in a way that honours you. Give me wisdom and strength to control my emotions and to speak words of love and kindness, even when I am feeling upset or frustrated. Help me to extend grace to those who may have hurt or offended me, just as you have extended grace to me.(Below are few references on how Job handles his Frustration with Non-Believers?)
Job 21:1-16
Here, Job says listen to what I say. Let this be your way of comforting me. Be patient while I speak. Then after I have finished speaking, you can make fun of me. My complaint is not against people. There is good reason why I am not patient. Look at me and be shocked. Put your hand over your mouth and stare at me in shock! When I think about what happened to me. I feel afraid and my body shakes! Why do evil people live long lives? Why do they grow old and successful? They watch their children grow up and live to see their grandchildren. Their homes are safe and free from fear. God does not punish them. Their bulls never fail to mate. Their cows have healthy calves. They send their children out to play like lambs. Their Children dance around. They sing and dance to the sound of harps and flutes. Evil people enjoy success during their lives and then go to the grave without suffering. They say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We don’t care what you want us to do!’ And they say, ‘Who is God All-Powerful? We don’t need to serve him! It will not help to pray to him!’ Of course, evil people don’t make their own success. I would never follow their advice.
Job 24:1-17
Why doesn’t God All Powerful set times for judgment? And why can’t his followers know when those times will be. People move property markers to get more of their neighbour’s land. People steal flocks and lead them to other grasslands. They steal donkey that belong to an orphan. They take widow’s cow until she pays what she owes them. They take a nursing baby from its mother. They take a poor person’s child to guarantee a loan. They force the poor to move out of their way and get off the road. The poor are the wild donkeys that go out to the desert to find food. From morning to night they work to gather food for their children. They have to work in the fields, harvesting grain. They work for the rich gathering grapes in the vineyard. They must sleep all night without clothes. They have no covers to protect them from the cold. They are soaked in the rain in the mountains. They stay close to the large rocks for shelter. They have no clothes, so they work naked. They carry piles of grain for others, but they go hungry. They press out olive oil and walk on grapes in the winepress, but they have nothing to drink. In the city you can hear the sad sounds of dying people. Those who are hurt cry out for help, but God doesn’t listen. Some people rebel against the light. They don’t know what God wants. They don’t live the way he wants. A murderer get up at dawn and kills poor, helpless people. And at night he becomes a thief. A man who commits adultery waits for the night to come. He thinks, ‘No one will see me,’ but still, he covers his face. When it is dark, evil people go out and break into houses. But during the day they lock themselves in their homes to avoid the light. The darkest night is their morning. They are friends with the terrors of the darkness.
Job 36:1-26
Here, Elihu is arguing with Job saying be patient with me a little longer. God has a few more words that he wants me to say. I will share my knowledge with everyone. I will prove that my Maker is Right. Job, I am telling the truth. I know what I am talking about. God is very powerful, but he is also very wise. He will not let evil people live. He brings justice to the poor. He watches over those who live right. He lets them rule in high places. So if people are punished, if they are tied with chains and ropes, they did something wrong. And God will tell them what they did, that they sinned and were proud. He will force them to listen to his warning. He will command them to stop sinning. If they serve and obey him, he will make then successful and they will live a happy life. But if they refuse to obey him, they will be destroyed. They will die like fools. People who care about God are always bitter. Even when he punishes them, they refuse to pray to him for help. They will die while they are still young, like the male prostitutes. God saves those who suffer by using their suffering. He uses their troubles to speak in a way that makes them listen. In fact, God wants to help you out of your troubles. He wants to take away your burdens that are crushing you. He wants to load your table with plenty of food. But you are full of this talk about guilt, judgment and justice! Job, don’t let your anger fill you with doubt about God. And don’t let the price of forgiveness turn you away. Do you think your wealth will keep you out of trouble? Will your great strength be of any help to you now? Don’t be like those who wish darkness would come and hide them. They try to disappear into the night. Job, don’t let your suffering cause you to choose evil. Be careful not to do wrong. Remember to praise for what he has done, as many others have done in song. Everyone can see what he has done, even people in faraway countries. Yes, God is great, but we cannot understand his greatness. We don’t know how long he has lived.
Matt: 7:13-14
(The Way to Heaven and the Way to Hell)
You can enter true life only through the narrow gate. The gate to hell is very wide, and there is plenty of room on the road that leads there. Many people go that way. But the gate that opens the way to true life is narrow. And the road leads there is hard to follow. Only a few people find it.
