Bumps in the Road

Matt 7: ²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.

Recently, Chris and Julie Garick had a trying time just getting a flight out to Hawaii.  Chris shared in a devotion about how frustrating each and every step of what became a 48hr exodus noting that it was tempting to get caught up in self pity and even question whether God was trying to communicate a message through the frustrations along the way.  He made an excellent point about how ludicrous our thinking becomes during times like these when we get wrapped up in self pity and doubt even being tempted to question God's leadership and direction thinking that we must be outside of God's will. 
I confess that I too get wrapped up in ludicrous thinking.  You all know that I am a man of zero patience, so I encounter situations like Chris described seemingly daily.  Jobs that should take 30 minutes turn into days of frustrating meetings that generate more questions and more work - ugh!  It makes one question whether God is trying to make a statement about being outside of His perfect will. 
After reading Chris' devotion, I'm mindful that in Matt 7 Jesus didn't promise us that the Narrow Gate, as he called God's will, was a life of zero frustrations and dangers.  Instead in Matt 7, note that He said "the rain comes in torrents."  Some days seem like frustrations come in torrents.  I know God loves me and doesn't wish these upon me, they are the result of a broken and flawed world made so by our own sin.  I think, however, that when He reminded us in Eph 4:26 that "in our anger, do not sin" He was saying that he's much more concerned about how we handle these situations than preventing them from occurring.  In other words, being the salt of the earth means that we are to demonstrate Christ's character to the world.  I confess that I can talk a good story, but living it amid a life full of frustrations has proven beyond my grasp. 
God has been on me quite heavily this Lenten season exposing my many character flaws and lack of patience is perhaps one of my worst which oddly enough adds to the list of frustrations almost like a self-licking ice cream cone.  I pray that in this second half of Lent, God would free me from the burden of my shame and guilt and lead me into the freedom of total reliance upon Him to mold and reshape me into the man of God He needs me to be at home and beyond.