Confess Your Frustrations to God

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Southeast Christian Church

May 26, 2022

When frustration threatens to overwhelm us, we can choose to express it, repress it, or confess it.

It’s easy to see that expressing frustration by lashing out is unhealthy, unwise, and unlike Christ. It’s a little more difficult at times to see how repressing frustration is similarly unhealthy. When we pretend that frustration is nonexistent in us, it bubbles up underneath and starts to come out sideways – in our relationships, in our words, even in physical symptoms of stress and restlessness.

The best option – and really the only Christ-like response – is to confess your frustration. First and foremost, we confess our frustration to God. He is not surprised by our emotions. In fact, Romans 8:20 lets us know that the whole creation is subjected to frustration for the purpose of refocusing on our hope in Him! When we confess our frustrations to Him, bringing difficult feelings to His throne and laying them at His feet, He is faithful to hear us. Even when we don’t know exactly what to pray for or how to articulate it, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us “through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26).

Not only should we confess our frustration to the Father, but we also share our burdens with the community of the body of Christ. We were created for community, and confession is part of living in true fellowship with others. While we often think of confession as pertaining to confessing sin (and rightly so), the sharing of burdens with one another is also a form of confession! When we live in a rhythm of confession as God intends and Scripture instructs, there is great spiritual benefit for us. Weights are lifted and patterns are broken when we practice the discipline of confession.

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Read Romans 8:18-27. Consider the reality of the Spirit’s dwelling in you. What reassurance is there in knowing that the Spirit of God knows your mind and heart on such a deep level? The same Spirit indwells us not just as individuals, but as the unified body of Christ! In what ways is He prompting you to practice confession with brothers and sisters in Christ?

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