Frustration Is an Invitation
Oct 12, 2026
If you keep running from that nagging frustration, you'll never push through it and get back to the fire that got you into ministry in the first place.
I know what it's like to live with that frustration. Most weeks I'm collecting more opportunities, more problems, and more things that need my attention. If you lead anything, you know how those things start to bundle together. They form a snowball, and that snowball picks up momentum. Pretty soon it's demanding a lot of your energy. And if you're not careful, it starts pulling you in a direction you never intended to go.
The Snowball I Didn't See Coming
I sensed that happening to me recently. Frustration kept building around things that didn't feel as aligned as they should be. So I did something I'd put off for too long: I got some administrative help.
That one step gave me back a little calm and a little quiet. Things got clear again. And in that space I started asking some important questions, the same questions I want to put in front of you today.
If you're a pastor, or you're responsible for things that really matter, the weight stacks up fast. That's why it's so important to get back to why we said yes to serving God in the first place.
A Bubbling Spring
This week I was reading John 4. Jesus says, "But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life" (John 4:14, NLT).
I love that picture. A bubbling spring is fresh and alive. It's the thing that drives your activity and your motives and gets you out of bed in the morning with energy.
I'll be honest: that doesn't always describe my days. Some weeks the task list is so long I can't see my way through it. I catch myself asking, "Does all this stuff really matter? What was I supposed to be doing in the first place?"
Here's what I've come to believe. Frustration can be your friend. It's not something to run from. It's an invitation.
When you feel frustrated about how much is on your plate, about whether your time is going to the right things, about the tasks that keep piling up, pay attention. That frustration is inviting you to get quiet and ask some hard questions.
And if you don't? You could leave the bubbling spring behind. You end up doing ministry in a way that doesn't really include Him. That's a scary place to be.
When the Apostles Hit Pause
We see this in Acts 6. The church was growing fast, and "as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent" (Acts 6:1, NLT). Things were getting messy.
Notice what the apostles did. They didn't just try harder. They used that discontent as a chance to re-evaluate. They put new leaders in place so they could get back to what they were uniquely called to do: prayer and the ministry of the word.
They had drifted a little off focus, so they reoriented.
Every leader needs that. There will be seasons of expansion that take you into new territory, and many of those seasons are good. But there also have to be seasons of consolidation, where you stop and remember why you got into this in the first place.
Five Questions to Get Your Fire Back
Here are five questions I've been asking myself. I'd encourage you to work through them too.
1. What drew me into this work?
Go back to the beginning. What got your attention when God first prompted your heart? What about it still matters deeply to you?
For me, it was a man I mentored for a full year while he was living on the streets. I watched him get clean, get off the streets, and see his life turn around. I remember thinking, "This is it. I want to be part of the kind of transformation where God changes a life and I get to help make the connection." I still remember that moment clearly. And it's easy to drift from it into a week of nothing but emails and event planning.
2. When have I recently thought, "This is why I do this"?
Who were you helping in that moment? What were you doing? I felt it recently helping move our church's building project forward. I got to bring some energy to it, we started making faster progress, and I thought, "Yes. This is why I do this."
3. As I pray, what burden keeps returning?
What need or problem keeps coming back to your heart, even when nobody's asking you to do anything about it? Some people call this holy discontent. Pay attention to what's burning inside you.
4. Where is my energy actually going?
I take on new things all the time. Many are aligned, but some start to drift. So I've been asking: Can I align this with where God is calling me? If not, can I hand it off or dismantle it? You're not responsible for everything that crosses your path. You're responsible for your calling. Sometimes that means making the hard call to pause something or give it away.
5. What needs space on my calendar right now?
You're responsible for the vision God gave you. I'm responsible for mine. The calling is individual. That's why the apostles made changes in Acts 6. They had to stay in the rhythm they were responsible to God for.
Make Some Space This Week
So here's my challenge. Put 30 minutes on your calendar this week. Get somewhere quiet and work through these five questions.
If you've been frustrated lately with how many things are pulling at you, that's not a bad sign. It's an invitation. Frustration is your friend because it gives you the chance to ask deeper questions.
Get quiet. Ask the questions. And watch what God does to reconnect you to that bubbling spring, the calling and vision He put inside you from the beginning.
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