Resting in Christ When Life Feels Frustrating

Another morning has come and gone here at our house,

with wispy white clouds dusting a vivid blue sky and the taste of fresh raspberries dotting our bowls of oatmeal,

with my active boy fidgeting during copywork and reading words that rhyme with “cat” and trying to figure out what six minus two equals,

with anxiety over how much my sweet girl ate for breakfast and how I’m going to convince her to eat more for lunch,

and with a global pandemic raging quietly in the background, making most of us feel slightly unnerved about the state of civilization.

Dust swirled around the basement in little puffs as I erased the chalkboard after our final reading lesson today. I silently wondered to myself when reading will become easier for my energetic little man, and sighed as I considered how impatient I can be sometimes. Anxious thoughts paraded around my mind. How can I do this “mom-plus-teacher” thing more effectively? What if I do such an awful job that Samuel never learns to read? Will other moms think ill of me if I throw up my hands and cry into a nice, soft, fluffy pillow?

At some point, we all find ourselves in these moments of doubt and frustration. These moments can haunt us if not put into the proper perspective. Sometimes they even lead us to heap undue pressure on ourselves to perform perfectly for our children, ourselves, and ultimately God. How do we keep these moments from overwhelming us and dragging us into their current of self-pity and shame?

The answer lies, deeply rooted and eternally steadfast, in the gospel.

I love that the word gospel means “good news.” Good news bring us joy. Good news brings us peace. Good news lifts our hearts up to praise our loving Heavenly Father. The “good news” of the gospel provides us with the rest we need. We don’t need to work tirelessly to do everything right. We don’t need to teach every lesson perfectly or make every meal the most exciting event in a monotonous day. We don’t need to run our homes with the precision of a chemist on the verge of discovering the world’s next big cure. What do we need to do?

We need to remind ourselves of Jesus’ perfect, loving, merciful, gracious care for us, and ask the Holy Spirit to apply those truths to our hearts and minds.

Our children run screaming from the delicious food we made for breakfast? Jesus comforts us in our affliction. Psalm 119:50-52 says: “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law. When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O Lord.” God’s Word brings us comfort when the struggles and cares of this life threaten to tip us over the edge. Meditate on God’s beautiful words found in all of Scripture, especially at those moments when you feel the most forlorn.

We feel frustrated when our young ones don’t do what God expects of them? Isaiah 53:4 says: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” Jesus carried our sorrows. He understands what makes us sad, and He promises to give us the peace of God “which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). This doesn’t mean our lives magically fall into place or we suddenly feel like everything will turn out just right–it probably won’t! Rather, this reminds us that Jesus comes to help us–He carries our burdens with us–and stands by us as He mourns with us. His spiritual presence points us to eternity, when we will be physically present with Him forever.

We grow impatient with our little students and berate ourselves for sinning in our anger? [1] We can apply this truth to our hearts: the gospel sets us free, and if we are free, we are free indeed. [2] Jesus died so that we don’t have to live in the guilt, the mire, of our sins, failures, and mistakes. We don’t need to return to the same angry moments again and again and wonder how we could let our self-control slip away so easily. Jesus frees us from those moments. We absolutely must learn from them, but then we can move on in the freedom of the gospel. What a lovely, blessed, heartening gift.

First Timothy 6:12 exhorts us to “fight the good fight of the faith.” Contending for our faith is good, but it’s not easy. We can’t go about our days complacently hoping that something will just pop right into place. We fight, we strive, we trust in the power of the gospel and the hope we have in Jesus Christ. We trust that God will finish the good work He began in us and the good work He begins in our children. [3] We rest in Christ and in His finished work on the cross. He suffered so that we could live free from guilt, shame, and trying to be the perfect parent, teacher, or anything else.

[1] Psalm 4:4
[2] John 8:31-36
[3] Philippians 1:6

Photo: Arisa Chattasa on Unsplash