How Christians Deal With Frustration

I lived in Indonesia in 1998 when long-time President Suharto finally resigned his presidency after over 30 years in power. Before he resigned, the threat of revolution and riots grew, so the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia officially asked all Americans to evacuate the country.

After a very long and tense day, we boarded a chartered plane and flew to Singapore. While we were waiting in Singapore for a flight back home to America, I remember hearing a man shouting obscenities into a pay phone. I don't remember what he was saying into the phone, but he was obviously very stressed about something and felt like he was stranded so far away from home.

Image by Matt Gruber: creationswap.com/mgruber

As Christians, there are certain expectations on our behavior (I'll let you decide how biblical most of them are). We often talk about the joy or peace of the Lord, but we don't often talk about how we deal with our anger or frustration.

Good Christian Responses To Frustration
Emotional.  It's okay to cry. It's okay to get angry. It's even okay to feel like you're boiling on the inside. Read through the book of Psalms, and you'll find that the Psalmist expressed every emotion from joy to sadness to rage. Read the Gospels and you'll see Jesus lash out in rage at people who were defiling the temple. Be careful how your emotions make you act, but having the emotions aren't sinful.

Prayer. We serve a God who listens. Google it--miracles still happen.

Bad Christian Responses To Frustration
Gossip. It's none of your friend's business what someone did to you or what happened at work. And guess what--the prayer request excuse doesn't cut it either. Also, it doesn't take long reading your Bible to see that God doesn't like gossip either.

Vengeance. Vengeance is one of the things that can happen when you act on your emotions the wrong way. Romans 12:19 says "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Talk To Me
How do you handle your frustration? What are other ways that you think Christians can effectively handle frustration and anger?