Zombie Food: Frustration

I am so frustrated at the moment that I have caught myself literally grinding my teeth.  I hate it when people won't communicate, especially when there are looming deadlines.  I mean, come on, even if your answer is, "I don't know" at least it IS an answer!  The more I've mulled the situation over the more frustrated I have become, to the point where I have given serious (if brief) consideration to throwing up my hands and walking away from the whole situation.

We've all been in this spot, where our frustration at a person or situation has either made us consider quitting or maybe we did quit. I've traveled this road so many times it's not funny and many times I have acted upon this impulse to just walk away.  Unfortunately that reaction almost never ends well.  The reason is that I didn't take into account if that was what God wanted me to do.

See, my inner zombie feeds on my frustration and uses that as a way to manipulate me into making a decision that removes me from doing what God has called me to do.  Okay, so the zombie doesn't so much feed on our frustration but feeds into it, causing me to become angry and make poor decisions.  I must constantly be aware of this and when those feelings and thoughts come up I must make a conscious decision not to act impulsively but to seek to do God's will no matter how I might be feeling.

The other side of this, if it is an individual or individuals that we are frustrated with, is that we must deal with the situation in a godly manner.  That means following the guidelines given in Matthew 18.  I hate confrontation so this is even more difficult for me than most people.  Of course, as I've learned how to follow these simple instructions I've learned that most of the times things can be worked out.  Of course that does mean that actual communication is involved and since that's the problem I am having (my communications aren't being answered in any form) this does put a wrench in things.  Of course I've also learned that if I try hard enough I can usually track folks down and deal with things.

While I've learned not to quit in anger sometimes God does use these situations to show me that He wants me to go in a different direction.  The key is to not act rashly and seek God's guidance and then do what He says.  It isn't easy, especially when my emotions get in the way but hey, Jesus didn't promise us an easy life, he promised to make it worthwhile.

So now that I've ranted a bit I'm feeling a bit more calm.  Time to try calling again...