We all deal with frustration in our lives. We live in an imperfect world where our best laid plans do not always come to fruition. I can only begin to imagine what Jesus must have felt on days when his disciples were completely clueless when it came to the many important issues that the Master Teacher brought to their attention, only to have them completely miss his intentions. Sometimes, the disappointments and irritations that come our way are momentary annoyances that come and go in minutes. Such frustrations are usually easy to handle. However, there are other times when we seem to walk into concrete walls no matter what direction we choose. What are we, as Christians, to do in such circumstances? I have often made the mistake of trying to handle such stretches of difficulties on my own, often with disastrous results. What does the Bible teach on this topic?
The psalmist David writes, ‘Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4, NIV).
I think believers wish to “take delight in the Lord,” but allow the many distractions of life to create the inevitable separation that results. Frankly, there are times in our lives when the Lord feels remote. We have removed ourselves from Him. He did not create the distance between Himself and us.
The world was on hold by a pandemic for close to two years. The United States is more divided now than it has ever been, certainly during my lifetime. As an older Baby Boomer, that’s about 70 years. People are anxious, fearful, separated, doubtful, and angry. The way has been paved for depression, yet David’s words are as relevant for us today as they were when he wrote them.
The next logical question might be, “Under what circumstances was David living when he wrote this beautiful psalm”? At what stage of life was the poet/king? According to most scholars, David was an elderly man. David reminds us that God is in control of his creation. The theme of this psalm is wisdom. As we age, we tend to look back more than we do ahead, as most of our lives are behind us. We have memories that the years of various experiences have provided us. David is not being the sometimes-tedious older person who repeats anecdote after anecdote time and time again. He is grappling with his world from the vantage point of an older man. I am inspired by the relevance of this 3,000-year-old example. In the psalm, we see something that reminds us that human nature does not change over millennia. David’s struggles then, are our struggles today.
