Breaking the Cycle of Frustration – Part 1

Do you remember the good old college days? For some it was a few months ago and for others a few decades ago. Before the days of luxury-apartment-living on college campuses, many of us experienced the hall bathroom. One step above the hall bath experience was the bathroom you shared between two dorm rooms. Flip-flops and plastic totes full of your bathroom gear were the hallmark of a college student. I’m pretty sure these nasty living conditions motivated more students to graduate in four years! Personally, I couldn't wait for the day when I no longer feared what fungus might be on the bottom of my shower.While I no longer have to fear fungus or pull out the flip-flops, I have returned to the plastic bin of late. I have the distinct privilege of being a mother without a bathroom home. Depending on what time everyone gets up in our house, I rotate back-and-forth between two bathrooms.The other day, as I was muttering and picking up dirty laundry and damp towels off the bathroom floor, it occurred to me this wasn’t the first time I’d muttered about this topic. As a matter of fact, I’ve been grumpy many mornings at this situation. This particular day, however, I felt like the Holy Spirit stopped me mid- mutter with the thought, “How much energy are you going to waste? You need to take your thoughts captive.This is a silly, annoying problem I’ve described… but the truth applies to even the most significant struggles in our lives. As believers, we have a choice: We can allow our minds to feed negativity and self-pity, or we can do as Paul instructs and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. As Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 10, our battle isn’t just a battle of the flesh. We have worldly struggles, but the enemy is happy to capitalize on them and keep us from focusing on truth.In the same way that I was challenged to no longer waste useful energy on negative thoughts, I put the challenge to you. Where in your life are you allowing your energy to be wasted by dwelling on something either trivial or beyond your control?[bctt tweet="Where in your life are you allowing your energy to be wasted ?"]In the trivial, do you get upset every day because your husband or child does the same annoying thing? Do you need to major on the majors and minor on the minors?In the world of the significant, is there a pain you’re walking through right now that may not resolve itself anytime soon? While your specific situation may be outside your control, we never lose control of our minds. We have the choice to take our thoughts captive or to be held captive by them.How do you really do this? Check back on Thursday for my next post and I’ll share the ways I’ve learned to take my thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.What frustration do you need to lay at the Lord’s feet and then trust Him to work on it?[bctt tweet="We have the choice to take our thoughts captive or to be held captive by them."]