Thrive in the Midst of Frustration

Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Job 1-2
NT: Luke 19
W&W: Psalm 59


Today’s Reflection:

Following are some thought-provoking excerpts from the book, When God Takes Too Long by Joseph Bentz:

7: Carl Honore – “The whole world is time-sick.”

8: Larry Dorsey – Time-sickness is the obsessive belief “that time is getting away, that there isn’t enough of it, and that you must pedal faster and faster to keep up.”

8: Honore – Time pressure is… “the chronic frustration that bubbles just below the surface of modern life … Anyone or anything that steps in our way, that slows us down, that stops us from getting exactly what we want when we want it, becomes the enemy. So the smallest setback, the slightest delay, the merest whiff of slowness, can now provoke vein-popping fury in otherwise ordinary people.”

8: As bothersome as those countless everyday incidents of waiting can be, the time sickness I have struggled with goes even deeper and is more disturbing. One of my greatest frustrations as a Christian is that I’m always waiting on God to act. This complaint – that God is too slow – is not one I have frequently stated out loud. It sounds too disrespectful, hints too much of a lack of faith.

10: In a time-obsessed culture, it’s easy to get so focused on what life will be like after some future event – once I get that promotion, once I graduate, once I get married, once I retire – that we lose the present with all its richness and joy and purpose.


This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.10-11: Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.