Victory247

There are many chances throughout each day to choose ‘patience’ or ‘frustration’. Frustration with ourselves, with others, or with circumstances.

I know as a golfer, if you choose ‘frustration’ more than ‘patience’, your round can fall apart. I’ve experienced it, and witnessed it. Some of my favorites include; a thrown club that traveled along an electrical wire, taking a bite out of a large chunk of sod that was the result of a “fat” shot, losing a thrown putter in a nearby maple tree, watching a player have to climb a pine tree to regain his tossed 7 iron, catapulting a 3 wood farther than the ball, listening to guys put together a string of vulgar exclamatives that made no sense but communicated their true feelings, seeing a grown man beat up a fir tree with his pitching wedge, and finally, falling over in laughter as a good friend proclaimed his resignation from golf “forever” (for the 50th time) while holding his whole bag of clubs over his head, then hurling it into a pond.

‘Frustration’ can snowball our emotions. We are wired to respond in a negative way when something goes wrong, or someone offends us. To cope with the stresses that life brings, it’s almost like we need to develop an “overlook muscle”. The ability to overlook those things that push our inner frustration in to  snowball mode. We can’t prevent it or stop it on our own. So we must call on God for His supernatural “overlook abilities” to enable us.

Today’s verse reminded me of a quote from Benjamin Franklin; “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half-shut afterwards”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, give me the wisdom to call on You to create patience in me. Give me the strength to “overlook” without getting even, angry, or running to my best gossip buddies. Thank You that You can give me inner joy and peace that is so sweet, and so greatly missed when I am in a “frustration snowball mode”. In Jesus Name. Amen.