Why do people get mad, sad and frustrated?

Mad, sad and frustrated ... let me just start by saying that those feelings aren’t necessarily bad! It’s what we do in response to those feelings that can be bad. Even Jesus got angry (remember when he overturned the money changer’s tables in the temple?) and he cried when Lazarus died, displaying sorrow or sadness. But, His was a righteous anger and there is nothing wrong with being sad or even frustrated. It’s how we respond to those emotions that makes the difference.

Because of the sin that came into this world, we sometimes let anger, sadness and frustration overwhelm us. We are weak beings that are born with a sin nature and sometimes that sin nature gets the best of us. It allows emotions like anger to explode into rage. It allows sadness to fester into depression. It allows frustration to manifest itself in to anger or sadness or, at its worst, hopelessness.

But, here’s the great news! Jesus died on the cross for those sins, yours and mine and of the whole world. By His blood we are saved. God knew we couldn’t do it on our own because of the sin that was brought into this world. So, he gave us a Savior. He gave us His one and only Son so that we would not perish but have eternal life. Because of our Lord, Jesus, we don’t have to lose hope, we don’t have to remain sad … if we truly believe He is who He says He is (and, believe me, He is!!!) then we can give all of our hurts and fears to Him and put our faith in Him.

Sometimes, we may not understand why things happen a certain way because it just doesn’t make sense to us. But, we have to lean on His promises. He promises never to leave you or forsake you. He promises that if you believe in His name and receive Him, you have the right to be called a child of God. And we have to trust Him. One of my favorite bible verses in Proverbs 3:5-6, which reads, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”