frustration — Daily Devotion — Kristen Alexis Cave

What We’re Called To Do In The Midst Of Pain

Whenever I’m having a tough time, a bad day, or I’m feeling down, I open up my “words of affirmation jar.” I’m still working on the name, but that’s not important. My “words of affirmation jar” is a white jar that sits on my desk. It’s filled with tiny little folded-up pieces of paper, each containing an encouraging or affirming message from my husband. This was his Christmas gift to me three years ago, and he has continued to refill it ever since he gave it to me. I remember one particular afternoon when I was feeling down and discouraged, I opened up the jar and grabbed a piece of paper. When it opened it up, it contained one word, followed by a few numbers.

Kristen CaveJuly 22, 2024pain, frustration, patience, hope, prayer, faithfulness, trust, trusting GodComment

Distancing Yourself From God

When Jesus is using the vine and branch analogy with His disciples, He makes it very clear that if we aren’t connected to Him, we can’t do anything. If we distance ourselves from Him, we’ll never get through this tough season. We’ll never be able to fully move on from the hurt, the loss, the disappointment, and the frustration. If we don’t draw near to the Lord, we won’t be capable of navigating the unexpected.

Kristen CaveJanuary 29, 2024quiet time, bitterness, disappointment, frustration, unmet expectations, prayer, unanswered prayers, rejectionComment

How To Choose Joy

There are moments in your life that, when they happen, you know you’ll never forget them. I’ve got quite a long list of those moments in my own life, but there’s one in particular that will forever be a favorite. A few summers ago, as I was driving home from running errands, I couldn’t stop complaining. I wasn’t necessarily talking to myself out loud in my car (although I’ve done that before). But on the inside, my heart was listing off one complaint after the other.

Kristen CaveDecember 13, 2023joy, choices, thankfulness, gratitude, complaining, frustration, circumstancesComment

10 Verses For When It Feels Like God Is On His Lunch Break

A while back, I was talking with one of my friends about prayer, and she said something that really struck a chord. She said, “Kristen, I just feel like my prayers aren’t getting anywhere. It’s like I’m trying to talk to God, but it feels like He’s on His lunch break and He’s not hearing me.”

Kristen CaveOctober 9, 2023prayers, answered prayers, unanswered prayers, waiting, frustration, doubt, trust, feelings, trusting GodComment

Pray With Persistence

I want you to take a second and think about how important of a role persistence plays in our lives. If you want something, it often takes persistence to obtain it. Very rarely do you get exactly what you want on the first try.

Kristen CaveSeptember 19, 2023persistence, perseverance, prayer, waiting, basketball, patience, frustration, discouragementComment

If You Only Knew

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in our own hopes, dreams, and desires, and become convinced that we know exactly what will satisfy our hearts. But my friend Elaine reminded me that our desires for ourselves and God’s desires for us aren’t always the exact same thing. She told me, “Kristen, you’re going to be so grateful that God did not give you your lesser desires, even though you would have sworn those were the things that would do the trick."

Kristen CaveJune 27, 2022hope, desires, waiting, unmet expectations, wanting, worth the wait, disappointment, frustration, doubtComment

10 Verses If You're Feeling Frustrated

Today, I want to give you a list of 10 verses to help you, encourage you, and give you hope if you’re feeling frustrated. I know the start of my week has been nothing short of frustrating (having your car break down will do that), and I’m sure you’re dealing with your own set of frustrations as well. So I hope that these verses will speak to you and that as you read them, you’ll experience the peace, hope, love, and comfort that is to be found in the promises of God.

Kristen CaveSeptember 22, 2021frustration, stress, overwhelm, scripture, God's Word, memorizing scripture, quiet time, bible readingComment

Access Denied

A while back, I was listening to a sermon by Michael Todd when he made this statement, “Our God is the God of access granted and access denied.” It was such a simple sentence, but it hit me hard, because I’ve lived through multiple circumstances where I so badly wanted something to work out, only to have my access to that desire denied. I’ve learned how there’s nothing I can do in my power to open a door that’s supposed to stay closed, or to close a door that’s supposed to stay open.

Kristen CaveJuly 29, 2021rejection, disappointment, frustration, discouragement, hope, open door, closed door, waiting, patienceComment

If You Only Knew

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in our own hopes, dreams, and desires, and become convinced that we know exactly what will satisfy our hearts. But my friend Elaine reminded me that our desires for ourselves and God’s desires for us aren’t always the exact same thing. She told me, “Kristen, you’re going to be so grateful that God did not give you your lesser desires, even though you would have sworn those were the things that would do the trick."

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