"He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise." (Job 5:12)
"The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught. he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. " (Psalm 33:10)
What kind of God do you believe in? Is He the God of the Bible, or the "god" of your own imagination? Is He all-powerful and able to carry out His purposes and desires, or is he a weakling that is constantly being defeated by his rebellious creatures? Does your "god" ever get frustrated? If so, let me tell you of my God, One who frustrates others, but is never frustrated Himself!
DEFINITION
With these definitions in mind, is it really possible for Almighty God to be frustrated? Certainly not! Positively no! Let the thought be forever banished! If God could be frustrated, He could be deposed from off His throne. But, praise His adorable name, that shall never be! See Psalm 66:7; 97:1; 103:19.
The word "frustrate" is used only twice in all of the Bible (KJV) and the word (frustrateth) occurs only once. Let us look at these verses: Ezra 4:5 - "And hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius the king of Persia."
Here we read of certain "adversaries of Judah and Benjamin" (Ezra 4:1) desiring to bring to nought the efforts of the "children of the captivity" in the rebuilding of the Jewish temple at Jerusalem. These enemies of God "weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose." (Ezra 4:4-5) Were God's people defeated in the rebuilding of their temple? We know that they were not. Here then, is a good illustration of what "frustrate" means.
Galatians 2:21 - "I do not ftustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
The Apostle Paul declares that he does not "make void" or "set aside" the grace of God, by preaching "righteousness by the law." He says that "Christ died without cause," if men are made righteous before God by the law." "No," Paul says, "it is God's grace that saves us, and I do not make grace of none effect by preaching that righteousness comes by the law, for then Christ would have died a meaningless death. Here again, we have the definition of "frustrate."
