What to Do With Your Frustration
Frustration shows up fast, and if we’re not careful, it can take over our hearts. In this episode, discover how to bring your irritation to God instead of letting it control your words and actions.
Ever have one of those moments where someone pushes your buttons, and you feel the heat rise in your chest?
It might be a coworker, a family member, a situation you can’t fix, or something completely unfair. Frustration happens to all of us, but Scripture shows us a better way to respond than lashing out or stuffing it down.
Today, Bart shares the powerful story of Jackie Robinson, who made history not just with his talent, but with his ability to bring his anger to God rather than retaliate on the field. His restraint helped change baseball, and his example can reshape how we respond when frustration hits.
Through Psalm 4:4–5, you’ll discover a simple, practical roadmap for handling irritation in a Christlike way: pause, reflect, bring your anger before the Lord, and trust Him to handle what you can’t.
Main Scripture:
Psalm 4:4-5 (NLT) – “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the LORD.”
By the end of this episode, you’ll discover:
- Why frustration is more than an emotion, it’s a faith moment
- How the pause before reacting can change everything
- What to do with the anger you don’t know how to express
- How to trust God with what’s beyond your control
Today’s Challenge:
Identify one source of frustration in your life today.
Bring it honestly to the Lord, name it, breathe, and ask Him for the next wise step.
Then, trust Him with the outcome.
Encouraged by today’s devotion?
Share this episode with a friend who’s wrestling with frustration.
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Frustration shows up fast, and if we’re not careful, it can take over our hearts. In this episode, discover how to bring your irritation to God instead of letting it control your words and actions.
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He sat across from the Dodgers' GM, Branch Rickey, in a
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small office in 1945. Rickey didn't ask Jackie Robinson if he
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could hit a curveball. He asked if he could hold his fire.
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Robinson pushed back, You want a man who doesn't have the guts to
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fight? Rickey shot back, I want a ball player with guts enough
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not to fight back. Could Jackie absorb the slurs of the spikes
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and the cheap shots and not retaliate?
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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger, and
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I'm grateful you're here today. We're talking about something
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all of us face. Frustration and irritation. You know, that
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moment when someone pushes your buttons or life throws something
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unfair at you and everything in you wants to lash out. The Bible
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has something incredibly practical to say about those
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moments. And today, we're going to walk through it together.
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David gives us a roadmap for what to do when frustration
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flares up. pause and reflect and then bring it to God and trust
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Him with it. Frustration is a normal part of life. Someone
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disrespects you or plans fall apart. You get overlooked or
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misunderstood, mistreated. In those moments, anger comes
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knocking fast. And if we're honest, most of us default to
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one of two reactions. Either we erupt or we stuff it down until
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it turns sour. But Scripture invites us to do something
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better. Don't sin by letting anger control you. Now, David
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isn't saying, don't ever feel angry or don't ever feel anger.
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He's saying, don't let it run your life. That's what makes
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Jackie Robinson's story so powerful. Before we finish it,
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let's think about what the psalmist teaches us here. When
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you're frustrated, the first move is pause. Think about it
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overnight, he says. In other words, step back long enough for
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your emotions to cool and your perspective to clear. Then, he
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says, offer sacrifices in the right spirit. Bring your
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frustration to God honestly, your hurt and your anger and
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your disappointment, and simply put it in His hands. And finally,
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trust the Lord. Trust Him to deal with what you can't fix.
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Trust Him to defend you, to guide you, to give you wisdom,
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to know what to do in those times when you would turn to
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anger instead. Because frustration isn't just an
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emotion issue. It's a faith issue. What you do with your
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frustration reveals where you place your trust. And that leads
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us back to the rest of the story. Robinson said yes. For two long
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seasons, he kept that promise, answering hate with base hits
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and stolen bases, leaning on the Methodist faith that had shaped
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him. Historians note, he often said his trust in God carried
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him through the pain of integrating baseball. Ricky
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later called his restraint almost Christlike. Here's
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today's challenge. He's going to take his anger to God. It made
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him weak. It made him a bridge that changed the game and the
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country. Here's today's challenge. When frustration
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rises, number one, pause before reacting. Even a five-second
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breath can change the whole moment. Number two, name the
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frustration to God honestly. Lord, here's what's bothering me.
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And then, ask him for wisdom before you speak. What's the
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right next step? And then, number four, trust him with what
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you can't control. And that's where peace begins. Don't let
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frustration hijack your heart. Hand it to the one who knows
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what to do with it. Lord, you see the moments that frustrate
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me. You know the feelings I wrestle with and the battles no
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one else sees. Help me not to let anger control me. Teach me
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to pause and to bring my frustration to you, to trust you
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with what's beyond my reach. Make my responses a reflection
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of your grace. In Jesus' name, amen. Thanks for joining me
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today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, your
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frustration doesn't have to control you. Bring it to God and
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let him lead your response. Come back next time for more
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encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth. Until
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then, God bless and have a great day.
