One biblical truth dramatically turned my frustration into contentment. We were driving through Los Angeles, and that only meant one thing: traffic. Without traffic, the trip would have taken an hour, but in L.A., that never happens. We were fortunate that it was Sunday afternoon, which meant the typical two-hour trip would only take an hour and a half. It was going pretty well until we were seventy-five percent of the way home. That is when the GPS flashed. A fender-bender about a mile ahead was slowing traffic to a crawl.
I was not feeling great and wanted to get home. When our wheels stopped rolling completely, even briefly, I could feel the stress and frustration rising. My initial thought was, “Why, Lord? You know I am not feeling well and am ready to be off the freeway.” Underlying that thought was the assumption that God was not doing what he should do. Then my thought went to something D.A. Carson once said.
Carson was teaching on the theological understanding of suffering, and one of the six pillars he laid out made this point. He gave the example of a group of people who go out wakeboarding on a beautiful summer day. Most people enjoying that activity do not pause and think, “I should stop and thank the Lord for this.” Instead, we assume that our pleasure at that moment is how it should be. To put it more bluntly, we think it is something we deserve. He then continued by pointing out that if one of those wakeboarders were to break his leg, often, the immediate response would be to curse God. Why would God allow this great day to be ruined?
The problem with this way of thinking is that it is entirely upside-down compared to the Word of God. The Bible tells us we are a cursed race because of our sins. All we deserve is hardship. Any enjoyment we experience should be seen as mercy and grace, and we should praise him for it. And when we face trouble, we should thank him that it is not as bad as we deserve.
Sitting in traffic, I realized that I had not once thanked the Lord that seventy-five percent of the trip had been smooth. I had not praised him for his goodness; instead, I murmured about my minor inconvenience. With that truth running through my mind, I felt myself give a sigh of relief. I went from complaining about the traffic to praising him for the free-flowing road we had enjoyed until then. The stress and frustration dissipated as a result.
Biblical truth is more than intellectual. It speaks to every fiber of our being. When someone rails against the Word of God or even holds what feels like insignificant assumptions contrary to it, it will impact every aspect of their lives. We cannot have the peace that passes all understanding or the contentment that accompanies godliness if our thoughts contradict his Word. A godly head and a godly heart cannot be separated.
-D. Eaton
The Fight of Faith 