In a funk
Source: Andrew Schroer, September 4, 2015 http://364daysofthanksgiving.com/funk/
I’ve been in a funk the last couple of days. That happens to me every so often. Usually I live life a hundred miles an hour. I have always been energetic. As a young man I was compared to Tigger on steroids.
P-Funk All-Stars funk
Every so often, though, I get into a funk. I hit the wall. I can’t seem to get myself motivated and moving. I become irritable and melancholic. Sometimes it’s just a little funk that lasts only a few hours. Sometimes it’s a George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars funk – a deep funk which lasts for days.
I know I have ministry to do, sermons to write, people to call and comfort, but I struggle to get myself to do it. All I want to do is stare blankly at the TV or computer. I have to force myself to do the job God has called me to do.
Thankfully, God always snaps me out of it. The sun comes out. I go for a run. A switch is flipped and I’m back to Tigger on steroids.
Truth isn't based on feelings
Do you ever get into a funk? For you it may be depression. Maybe you’re frustrated with your life. Maybe you’re just tired. You’re in a funk. You feel down. You feel bad.
Sometimes those funky feelings last a short time. Sometimes they last a few days. Sometimes they feel like they are never going to end.
Thank God the truth doesn’t depend on how we feel. Our feelings can fool us. When we’re down, we feel like the world is crashing in around us. At times we feel like all is lost – like there is no hope, no help, no way things will ever be okay.
That’s when we need to be reminded of God’s never changing truth.
List God's attributes
Many years ago, I was counseling a woman who suffered from a chemical imbalance which drove her into deep depression and melancholy. A wise old pastor encouraged me to have her list God’s attributes, his characteristics.
“He is wise, powerful and eternal,” she told me. “He never changes. He is always with me.”
“And how does he feel about you?” I asked.
“He loves me,” she said trying to force a smile.
“In fact, he loved you so much, he suffered the punishment of hell in your place,” I added. “So if the all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal God who is everywhere loves you more than you can ever imagine, if he forgives you and gives you heaven, if he is with you wherever you go, what do you have to worry about? What do you have to feel so bad about?”
“I guess nothing,” she said sheepishly.
Truth makes the difference
That truth didn’t make the bad feelings suddenly disappear, but they did help her to start feeling better. She knew the truth even if she didn’t feel it. She learned to recognize when her feelings were lying to her.
Don’t trust your feelings. You may feel like everything is bad, all is lost, there is no hope. At times like that, I say, “To hell with your feelings.”
Remember, know and trust the truth God promises in his Word. You may not feel it, but you can know it.
And knowing makes all the difference, especially when you’re in a funk.