Frustration surrounds us in this world: parents are frustrated at times with their children (and vice versa), siblings get frustrated with one another, we get frustrated with red tape, our employers, doctors, politicians, traffic, etc. The list could go on and on. People even get frustated with one another at church. People have been in frustrating situations for thousands of years. Today we will look at Moses and how he dealt with one of these (Numbers 4.1-4)
The first key to dealing with a potentially frustrating circumstance is
I. Don’t get chocked up on pride (vs. 5)
- In a similar situation, some of us may have been tempted to leave the Israelites out in the desert, or at least given them the wrong directions back to Egypt!
- Many times, as soon as we get frustrated or angry, we put up a wall that prevents us from resolving the situation
- We can often defuse situations by humbling ourselves and adopting a forgiving nature
- Proverbs 16.18 says "Prides goes before the fall, and an arrogant spirit before stumbling"
- when in a situation that could potentially cause anger or frustration, we need to remember that pride will only make things worse
The second key is
II. Don’t blame others (vs. 9)
- We live in a society where we can blame others for everything and get away with it
- In fact, many times this sort of behavior is encouraged
- We should be willing to take responsibility for ourselves
- The worst possible thing that any of us can do in a situation like this is to blame God
- The old saying is that God created the world in six days, rested on the seventh, and started answering complaints on the eighth
- We might be tempted to ask God, just as Job did, why certain things happen. Before we do, we should remember His words in Job 40.8 "Will you really question my judgement? Will you blame me that you may be justified?"
The final key is to
III. Consider what God has done (vs. 18 & 19)
- How frustrated God must be with us when we constantly do things we should not!
- Henrich Heine once said "We should forgive our enemies, but only after they are hanged"
- Years later, and lying on his deathbed, he was asked if he thought God would forgive Him- "Of course," he said, "that’s His business."
- In the New Testament, we are constantly reminded that we should forgive others as God has forgiven us
