One of the things I work on all the time is not getting frustrated in life. If something doesn’t go the way I want it to, I get frustrated. If something happens that I don’t like or agree with, I get frustrated.
The most common definition of definition of frustrate is to induce feelings of discouragement. Many people get discouraged when something in life doesn’t go their way. I get discouraged at times also! When I do get discouraged, I have to remind myself that my hope isn’t in man or in things but that my hope is in the Lord!
In the Christian life, I believe many people get ‘burnt out’ doing the Christian duties that we hear about so often. They may get tired of doing Christian duties, they may feel like they are never going to reach that standard of Christianity that has been set by someone in their life, whether it’s their parents, a church or someone they look up to. Many decide since they can achieve the spiritual level required of them, they just won’t try any more. This is just a sad fact in Christianity today.
The reason many people give up on Christianity is not because they aren’t saved but because they have ‘frustrated the grace of God.’
“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
Galatians 2:21 KJV
The word frustrate in this verse means to make ineffectual, to bring to nothing.
As a Christian, we have to realize that the grace of God is sufficient for us! We have to realize that there is absolutely nothing we can do for salvation. Salvation is through Christ and Christ alone. Probably my favorite thing about salvation is that since I have accepted Christ as my Saviour, I do not have to do anything to keep Christ as my Saviour. Once saved, always saved, no matter what!
What Paul is talking about here in Galatians is how they were confusing grace with the law and the law with grace. They are two different things but you have to have both to understand both! I wouldn’t know that I needed grace unless I knew that I didn’t measure up to the law.
What I do after salvation for Christ isn’t to keep my salvation but to show my love and gratitude towards Him and what He did for me.
If I think that my works after salvation do anything to keep me saved or make me any more righteous in His sight, than I have frustrated the grace of God and made it of none effect.
Christian, don’t get burnt out by getting frustrated at serving Christ! Change your mindset on why you serve Him! Don’t serve Him because YOU think you have to, to keep your righteousness. Serve HIM because you love Him and want to serve Him your gratitude for what HE has done for you.
If you are getting frustrated (discouraged) in your service to Christ, it may be that you are frustrating (making of none effect) the grace of Christ by trying to achieve righteousness through your own works.
