Managed Expectations-A Poetic Note to Self...........

Hi all, I was thinking about the source of many of my fleshly moments, and was reminded of the many times I have been interrupted or otherwise "inconvenienced." I mean, there are times when I KNOW exactly what I want to get done, or exactly where I want to go, etc. Something seems to, fairly often, set my plans off track. Now I have responded to the offset differently at different times; and I've seen different outcomes based on those responses. Whenever I have responded from a perspective of "all time is a gift of God," I've really been able to find God's grace to serve at a moment's notice. It could be anything, couldn't it? I could be on the way to the front door to go check the mail, and the beautiful woman God gave me could stop me and ask me to run upstairs to get something for her or the baby. Who's need comes first? Does mine automatically come first because it was expressed first chronologically? That was an easy example I'm sure. Not like the times when you've planned a nice dinner date with your spouse and 10 minutes prior to leaving, the sitter cancelled. THAT, my friend, is a MAJOR infraction. How are we to respond when our plans don't come to fruition? What happens to our attitude when all that we've set as truth in our minds comes to naught due to a phone call? How attached to our plans and expectations are we anyway? Now, the grand question: what does GOD's Word say about all this? There will be a part II, but meanwhile I've written a poem as a note to myself about this.

Managed Expectations-Note to Self

You are what you call frustrated, but what the Bible calls angry,

Things didn't go the way you planned, so it's your selfishness mainly,

You had your entire day set, from waking moment down to the night,

But you encountered interruptions and to you, that just ain't right,

"I didn't get anything I wanted done!" You selfishly exclaim,

Do you remember, Mark 5, Jesus delayed giving life to sooth pain,

I'll bet the woman with the issue of blood would've probably been crushed,

If Jesus was so committed to His own plans just like us,

Her interruption, it seems, was a chance for the Lord to show mercy,

Our interruptions get the short end of the stick, "alright I'll help, but I'm in a hurry!"

Could it be that by thinking we can control our own days,

That the Lord allows setbacks to show us the evil in our ways?

As Christians, we are commanded to prefer one another over self,

And at times, that's a sacrifice which includes placing our own plans on the shelf,

If we live with the notion that my life is to be poured out as an offering of service,

The idea that "I might not be able to get to everything I wanted," wouldn't make us nervous

Now everybody suffers because of your "frustration," the cats. the kids, the spouse, the client,

And you say it's because there's not enough time in a day, an excuse the God of time's not buying,

There's plenty of time, we all have the same amount, but if your priority is your plan,

You will forever find that you seem to run short, because your life ain't in your hands.

If you belong to the Lord that is, you've been born again, there's something you musn't forget,

Proverbs 16:9 A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Bent Outta Shape: Biblical?

Wowzers!!!  My first *real* day of blogging has me just about overwhelmed.  If you've ever seen say, my parents with an iPod you'd know about how I feel right now.  As technically saavy as I'd once thought myself to be, I am humbled by this new experience.  For one, I originally had this blog hosted on wordpress, partially because I saw a few others there and said, "this looks easy."  Wrong, I tell ya.  Wrong, altogether wrong.  Now, just as I was getting frustrated, I thought back to a recent convo I had with my brother in Christ.  We were discussing the Bible's view on the acceptability of frustration as a normal Christian response to difficulty.  The fact is, we discovered, frustration is actually a fruit.  In other words, frustration is the reflection in a mirror; the reality of which is anger.  As I thought about my frustration with this blog thing, I began to chip away at the facade and boil down to the truth.  I was angry-angry because A.  I was not having my expectations met when it came to putting this blog together, and B.  My pride told me that I was smart enough to have this thing whipped together in 5 minutes.  Well I called it frustration, justified it as proper and acceptable, and was just about to move on.  Then I thought about our Lord.........Did Jesus ever exhibit frustration in the way that we do?  I mean, there were plenty of situations He was found in that if it had been me, I would've been FRUSTRATED (read, angry). The disciples continuing to ask Him about things He'd explained, and REexplained, etc....... See, the truth is that there are some instances that frustration would appear to be warranted. However, Scripture does not give a believer an out when it comes to our responses to adversity.  During this ordeal, I'm realizing that frustration=anger=anxiety, all of which we should depend on the Lord to rid us of.  In simple terms, this is an opportunity for growth for me.  I have gone sooooo long thinking that to be frustrated is  OK, and I've allowed that false belief to lead to justification for the more heinous manifestations of that frustration.  Some of these have been argument, raised voice, silent treatment, irritability, and the distancing of myself from the Body of Christ.    I have to look at any emotion that has produced such foul fruit as those I just described as bad, not good or acceptable unto the Lord.  Philipians 4:6-7 says this:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your

requests be made known to God.   ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This, by no means, is the only text in the Word that deals with this issue.  However, it does strike a deadly blow to my response to this particular difficulty.  When will the peace of God guard my heart and mind?  When I turn my anxiety/worry/frustration into prayer with thanksgiving unto God.  The next time I'm at work on this blog and I feel frustration creeping in, I'll pray.  God's wisdom and grace are promised to those who humble themselves and seek it.  (James 1:5 and  James 4:6)