From Frustration to Faith

Deuteronomy 2:3 Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. How weary they must have been, going around and around in circles year after year. The same landmarks time after time. I bet that certain rocks, bushes, and mountain peaks just became reminders that they were going nowhere fast. It was their doubt that kept them in this dizzying journey of gloom and despair. I can imagine that it must have been terrible for the dying generation, as it was a daily reminder of the fact that they chose not to believe instead of choosing to possess the land. I think it had to be even worse for the younger generation because they had no part in the sin of their parents. They didn't have a vote to begin with, but now they were suffering because of someone else's bad choices. Was it fair? On the surface it seems unjust, but all of that frustration would one day transform into a faith that would walk across the Jordan River, and march around the city of Jericho. The only real difference between the unbelieving first generation and the believing next generation was having to live under the consequences of unbelief, and then given the choice to put their faith in action. It's hard to argue that their frustration was not used in a positive way, because definitely was. What is it that you deal with daily that has more to do with the choices of another than it does about you? It seems unjust and unfair, and it can be so frustrating that it's unbearable at times. It's time for us to use our frustrations as a launching pad into a faith that steps out into the unknown and chooses God's way even when it seems impossible. When God said that "all things work together for our good"(Romans 8:28), He meant every word of it!