Frustrated Frustration
By John Gavazzoni

Our Lord Jesus might be called The Great Frustrator of Frustration. I don't need to labor the point that there is a presence within God's world that seeks to frustrate His purposes, especially that all-inclusive purpose that the knowledge of the glory of the Lord should fill all the earth, as the waters cover the sea. The hostility of enmity is the driving force of frustration's agenda. There exists a hatefulness toward that purpose of purposes. It is viciously adversarial. That is, it is Satanish. No need for one personal devil, there are plenty of adversarial folks who qualify as satans. And let's not forget that presence within the flesh of, and among the, sons of God. As is recorded in the Book of Job, when the Sons of God appeared before the Lord, Satan appeared among them with a very intentional agenda. Keep in mind that factor of intention as you read, please.

Over and over again, in our individual lives as believers and collectively as God's summoned gathering (conventionally called, "the church"), we are confronted with frustration. Hedged in by it, feeling sometimes that we're about to be driven to despair and/or madness by it. It is so relentless that it pushes us to the edge of fatalistic cynicism. Judas Iscariot must have felt that very keenly. It seemed to Him that Jesus kept ignoring wonderfully pregnant situations in which, having displayed His miraculous power, He could have led a popular revolt against Rome, and returned the kingdom to Israel. The frustration kept building until, street-smart man that he was, he planned to put the Lord on the spot, leaving Him no way out but to seize the kingdom by force. It didn't turn out as he planned. He had never intended for the Lord to be crucified. He just wanted Jesus to "get on with it." "For God's sake, Lord," thought Judas, "get on with it."

Judas' intention was merely to manipulate the Lord, but there was a Satanish intention manipulating Judas to betray the Lord. That which is Adversarial always goes for the kill. It wants Jesus gone, dead, out of the way. He's the Ultimate Obstruction against a kingdom of elitist humanity. "How dare He side with the unwashed masses and raise their hopes of glory, when glory belongs only to us, as those destined to be the lords of the disgustingly lesser species of humanity. His must be the destiny of ultimate frustration: Against His claim to be "the Life," we'll kill Him, and do it with the greatest cruelty and humiliation, on a Roman cross. We'll frustrate Him to the uttermost."

BUT frustration got frustrated, didn't it, dear saints. Satan entered into Judas to betray the Lord, which led to His death, which death was the reconciliation of the world. By that uttermost of death, He is able to save to the uttermost. It's always that way with this frustration thing. Frustration gets frustrated in the extreme. Not only does it not succeed, it is rendered useless/idled down/rendered ineffective---conventionally translated as "destroyed."---to the point of becoming itself the servant and friend of God. Now THAT'S frustrating frustration, I would say. The victory of the cross, frustrating frustration, shows up time after time in the lives of the saints. Beaten down, opposed on every side, despairing of life itself, so low we have to look up to see the curb---nothing left but the futility of frustration, and THEN, lo and behold, even as feelings of resentment inundate our hearts, resurrection kicks in, and we end up loving the Lord more than before, and by the instrumentality of being subjected to the futility of frustration.

Ah, our magnificent Lord, The Great Frustrator of all Frustration. Be joined to Him in His delight of frustrating frustration. The story is told of Martin Luther, that he was awakened one night by a feeling of a presence in the room. Turning over to look in that direction, there he saw none other than Satan, himself. Calmly taking in the sight, the great reformer said, "Oh, it's only you," and went back to sleep." I like that. It's only the Frustrator destined for frustration, regardless of his intention. Whatever you're going through in the way of frustration, give the process the time needed. Give the cross time for the killing to be completed. Frustration will be converted into jubilation. Amazingly, by death, Jesus defeated him who has the power of death.

There has been for a long time, a teaching that keeps reappearing in different forms among the people of God which really partakes of the Judas mentality. We've been urged to confront God with His own Word, His own promises, so that by so doing, He will have to honor His word, and act on our behalf. Supposedly God will not act until we remind Him of what Has spoken. Supposedly, His Word is impotent in, and of itself, until we insist that He honor it. Pretty heady stuff, that. Just like Judas attempting to manipulate Jesus, we do the same by such very spiritual-SOUNDING nonsense.

I just had an epiphany-moment: While non-dualistically considering the common frustrations are a part of this life, we need to separate the effect upon ourselves of these things which confront us daily, in order to see clearly from a non-dualistic perception, BUT having made that separation, we need to then INCLUDE the effects upon ourselves as integral to non-dualistic perception.

What I'm saying is, that the negative effects felt by us as we're confronted by very personal aspects of the human condition, are not to be viewed as ultimately problematic, but integral to the glorious resolution. Here's the principle again: Creation subjected to futility in/with EXPECTATION. The futility is integral to the glory hoped-for/expected. No futility, no glory. No reactionary-producing effects upon ourselves would mean that there would be something missing for the non-dualistic perception to see.

I'm presently experiencing this. I'm having times when I feel like I'm drowning in the excrement of my own reactions to what is pressing upon me circumstantially. If I merely separate my feelings, and the accompanying chaotic, desperate thoughts without integrating them into non-dualistic perception, I'm left stuck with, "Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death." Yet, even that is integral to expectation. Without that summary angst of Rom. 7, there is no movement forward to Rom. 8.

There is introduced into the process a certain element of denial. Pop-psychology speaks (rightly) of our need to embrace our dark side. In that respect, should we not understand John's exhortation to confess our sins - to include owning them, so to speak - as necessary to "not sin."