Experienced Frustration

What DID Jesus DO?

The commercial came on right as the inning ended.

For the 15th time since the game started.

I started to recite the hate-filled, political nonsense in time with the television right before the commercial switched to the next advertisement–an advertisement for the politician being drug through the mud in the previous one.

Exasperated, I looked at Russ and said, “I don’t know if I can make it through another month of this nonsense” just as the baseball game filled the screen, leaving the politicians behind.

Before long, the top of the next inning was over, and I waited anxiously and angrily for the 16th playing of the previous commercial.

It’s like Youtube read my mind (or was listening–because technology) because as soon as the advertisement came on (again), an option showed up on the bottom of the screen to skip the advertisement and watch a serene scene.

“Click ‘skip this ad’, Russ! Quick, skip it!” 

Fumbling with the remote and stressed out by my adamant tone, Russ finally clicked the button, and a beautiful fall scene with changing leaves and sounds of nature filled our television screen.

I stared at it for a few seconds before turning to Russ with confusion written all over my face.

“Ummm, when did YouTube TV start giving us the option of watching a serene nature scene instead of a political ad?”

Confused, Russ simply shrugged, and we both sat in our living room in silence, grateful we were no longer being subjected to the incredibly frustrating political advertisements taking over television during this election season.

It’s not just the political advertisements causing my frustration this season, though. There’s this thing that happened when social media took over our world–certain people think because it exists on the interwebs, it must be true. And, because it must be true, they repost it without bothering to spend the 30 seconds it would take to fact-check it. Or, even worse, they post it regardless of it being fact-checked and proven false.

It frustrates me so much, that it makes my head want to spin right off my body. 

We have eyes.

We have ears.

We all have brains.

For some reason, though, too many of us rely solely on our ears and eyes and fail to use our brains to think for ourselves. God has given us our eyes, ears, brains, and lived experiences to be able to use all of them to think critically and process the information laid out for us, but, man, so many of us struggle to think for ourselves at times. It’s so easy to get pulled in by the brilliance of propaganda, sound bites, and endorsements.

As I was getting my panties in a bunch over all of this, I started studying the next part of Luke for this week’s post, and I think I probably chuckled a little because I never really thought about Jesus getting frustrated with people for not utilizing their eyes, ears, and brains in their faith.

 Before the Frustration

We’re in Luke 9 right now in this series, and we’ve seen Jesus do some really cool things:

• He gave His Apostles authority over all demons and the power to heal all diseases.

• He taught them the importance of knowing when to stay and when to go.

• He fed the 5,000 with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread.

• He taught and healed the masses.

I haven’t talked about this, but in Luke 9:28-36, you can read about the transfiguration. Jesus took Peter, Jacob, and John up into the mountains. Some super trippy and supernatural things went down on that mountain–including the glory of God showing up, God speaking, and dead Elijah and dead John showing up.

These are important contextual points to remember here. Not only had Jesus given the Apostles the authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases, but He had performed miracles right in front of them and taught so much about the kingdom to them and others. Oh, and the whole “this is the voice of God” thing that several of them experienced.

They had seen with their eyes.

They had heard with their ears.

They had experienced in their souls.

And yet…

The Straw that Broke the Frustrated Camel’s Back

Luke records what happens next in verses 37-40:

The next day, a massive crowd was waiting at the foot of the mountain to meet them. A man in the crowd shouted desperately, “Please, Teacher, I beg of you, do something about my son, my only son. An evil spirit possesses him and makes him scream out in torment, and hardly ever leaves him alone. It throws him into convulsions and he foams at the mouth. When it finally does leave him, he’s left with horrible bruises. I begged your disciples to drive it out of him, but they didn’t have enough power to do it. Luke 9:37-40 TPT

You know those moments when you’ve told your kids the same thing 17 times, shown them what you mean, and demonstrated it for them, yet, somehow, they still don’t get it?

That’s how I picture this scene going down.

First, Jesus showed His disciples how to teach and heal through his example.

Then, Jesus gave His disciples the power and authority to heal and cast out demons.

After this, Jesus sent His disciples out on their own to teach, heal, and drive out demons.

When they got back, Jesus multiplied the bread and fish and fed literally thousands of people.

 A week later, He and three of His disciples encountered this miraculous, supernatural interaction with God.

Somehow, though, when this man brought his demon-possessed son to the disciples the very next day, they couldn’t drive the demon out.

Here’s Jesus’ response to this encounter:

Jesus responded, “You are an unbelieving people with no faith! You twist your lives with lies that have turned you away from doing the right things. How much longer should I remain here, offering you hope?”  Then he said to the man, “Bring your son to me.” Luke 9:41 TPT

Parents, do you feel this in your souls like I do?

It’s that moment after we’ve done everything we can think of to get our children to do something correctly, and it’s still a disaster! Then, in our complete and utter frustration, we spout off and then we do it ourselves!

Do you feel me here?

I’ve read countless commentaries, translations, and articles about this scene. It’s interesting how differently people view Jesus’ words and frustration here. Some folks say He wasn’t speaking to the disciples at all, but to the father–essentially accusing him of not having enough faith for his son to be healed.

Others, though, believe Jesus was speaking directly to His disciples out of His frustration for their inability to heal this boy despite being gifted with the power and authority to do so.

Still, others believe Jesus was speaking to both the disciples and the father–addressing the father’s lack of faith and the disciples lack of belief in their power and authority.

Honestly, even after reading all of these discussions, I’m still not entirely sure who Jesus was speaking to directly, but I think there are several lessons here for us regardless.

1. God has given us the ability to see, hear, and process information ourselves, yet we are all guilty of falling prey to the lies and twisting of reality by others at times–like the disciples.

2. Faith is an integral part of our belief and our hope, and when we forget that, we suffer–like the father.

3. People are going to be guilty of both 1 and 2 at various times in our lives, causing us to be frustrated–like Jesus.

Are you overwhelmed yet?

What We Can Learn about Frustration:

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself living in this place of frustration often throughout this election season. I’ve found myself scrolling through social media posts and shaking my head, reading peoples’ explanations of why they voted the way they did and feeling utterly confused, and diving into comments sections only to be completely disgusted.

Why?

Because Christ’s directive was to love God and love people, yet there has been so much hatred from so many folks claiming Christ being spewed out all over the place.

I get so frustrated. I kind of just want to start commenting “Luke 9:41” with no context and no explanation, but I’m sure I’d get annihilated by those same Jesus followers for taking Scripture out of context.

So, instead, I just rest in this knowledge–Jesus got frustrated too. Then, I remember this very important fact about His frustration: He didn’t sin in His frustration. He called out the catalyst for His frustration:

• You are an unbelieving people with no faith.

• You twist your lives with lies that have turned you away from doing the right thing.

But, He didn’t:

• Call them names.

• Insult their intelligence.

• Make fun of them.

• Belittle them.

Instead, He acted exactly how He had expected them to act and how He consistently acted in the past–by casting out the demon and healing the child. 

In the heat of His frustration, Jesus still managed to eke out hope and healing.

Oof.

That’s my goal, friends, and I hope you can make it yours as well.

In the face of frustration, I pray we can all be honest without insult, wise in the face of ridiculousness, and a beacon of hope and healing in the midst of what might feel like hopelessness to us.

Reflection Questions:

1. What is the biggest catalyst for your frustration in this season?

2. How can you respond to your frustration in a Christ-like manner?

3. Are there things you need to separate yourself from so you can remain Christ-like in your responses?