Have you ever fallen into a funk where the joy and delight of life seems to have vanished and you mentally wander around rather aimlessly without a clear sense of direction? If so, there’s a spiritual way out.
Remember that God’s man never falls into a funk. Life is a delight for him. There’s always a clear sense of purpose, a deep desire to live, a good reason to get up in the morning and something worthwhile to be doing.
Mortal mind, on the other hand, looks for purpose in the world and may find it for a while, and then lose it. Like a mother happily raising children for 20 years and then wondering what to do when the kids move out. Or a business manager who kept busy in the workplace for 40 years, retires, and then wonders what to do. The cure is to find a spiritual purpose for living.
When we understand that our purpose is to use our God-given talents and skills for the benefit of our neighbor, we will always find abundant opportunity to keep happily busy with worthwhile activity. There are endless opportunities to do good for others, from building houses for the homeless, to writing inspirational pieces, to talking with lonely teens or seniors, to volunteering for worthy charities, to dedicating oneself to healing others through prayer. There is no limit to the good you can do.
An outlook dominated by a clear spiritual purpose will not fall into a funk.
If caught in a funk, resist it, refute it, deny it, wake up from it by understanding your spiritual purpose better. The depressed feeling is not going to be cured by a new car, by taking an extravagant vacation, by drugs, overeating or buying more things. It’s a spiritual yearning that can be met only by an awakening to spiritual truth.
You have a purpose! It’s to glorify God in meaningful and useful ways. And God supports you 100% to fulfill your spiritual potential.
“Fight the good fight with all thy might,
Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right;
Lay hold on Life, and it shall be
Thy joy and crown eternally.”
Christian Science Hymnal, #59
Wow! Just the ticket for this morning, for so many and little moi
So encouraging, such a good post… Evan you touch our hearts by always addressing issues which many of us seem to be facing. “Funk” means “a state of being unhappy and without hope”. The challenges of life at times does present a very grim and hopeless picture to us. How do we deal with a hopeless situation, a very unhappy situation? Will running away, or buying new things, or drugs, or vacation help? Well we may get a temporary respite…But then what???
Wherever we go the situation is going to follow us, unless we make our peace with it, by seeking a spiritual way out.
When we are so occupied in using our time and skills for the betterment of our neighbors or the ones in need, it brings so much satisfaction, joy, peace and hope. We forget the issues that bother us and make us feel hopeless. Life has new meaning for us if we dedicate it to glorify God, by being good, helpful, charitable, selfless…i.e. seeking a spiritual way out and giving a new direction to life. Life then appears to be crowned with joy.
Thank you Evan – that’s just what I needed!! SO grateful for all your wonderful uplifts
Wow ! How well timed are some of your daily subjects for me … I have been quite prone to “funk” mentality lately – Woke this morning feeling, again, quite useless and that I had wasted my life in survival mode accomplishing nothing. All of a sudden I remembered a time when I had been driving an old jalopy and was sitting at a Stop! light with a huge, shiney, new Cadillac beside me. I looked down at my jalopy and up at this elaborate car and thought,” God, that’s not fair”. Into my thoughts came, “Well, he doesn’t have anymore of God than you do”. Reminding me, I think, that I, indeed, had unrestricted good and access to all I needed all the time. No one had more of Life, Love, Joy, good than me. The mortal picture plays its trump card on “more or less” than as a measurement of ones worth and value. More education, money, spiritual understanding, more good, purpose , meaning, and I am learning that there is no measurement to All. Perhaps in my “little” life I touched people and learned more of the closeness and instant availability of His provision and care for us because I HAD TO. Perhaps in my own “little” way I could assure people He is right here with us and we are an indispensable part of Creation absolutely and have a role no one else can fill, albeit we will never hit the front page of the paper. Thanks
Thank you, Evan and also Charla. Precious thoughts to carry us through what could have been a dull or disappointing day.
Hi Charla, you are on the front page of GOD`s paper, surely – and thats more important than anything else!
Thank you Nergish that you explained the word “funk”. Although I looked it up in the english/german dictionary, your explanation is the clearest.
Evan, thank you so much for the verse of the song from our hymnal – I love that so much. It is so strong! The above painting is such a heavenly outlook.
Thank you for another valuable opportunity to be aware for what I may be grateful! 🙂
Right after school I did not wander around aimlessly, but rather fight with ideas to find the right purpose, but what suits m e and not God. But later in a job, while I was quietly at home the freeing thought came to me “God is your boss in any case”. From there on my business-world changed. First I visited The Motherchurch. Then after some seeming struggles I started to learn CS nurse and later worked as such. Since then God gave me always purposes to serve Him. I am so very grateful that Christian Science helped and helps me to find delight in living, moving and having my being in God 🙂
What a fresh way of looking at daily life! A God purposed life brings joy beyond imagining, doesn’t it? Modern life with its emphasis on acquisition and constant entertainment does lead to a staleness at times. Let’s turn that around to a life filled with God directed purpose and accomplishment. To loving our neighbor as ourselves. What joy there is in giving of our hearts! Evan, you and God continue to bless us with these beautiful ideas to ponder. Ever so grateful!
SH 60:29-31 “Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind, and happiness would be more readily attained and would be more secure in our keeping, if sought in Soul.”(Mary Baker Eddy).
Thanks a million!!! Now I am geared up to be s true “Funk-Fighter”!!! Just when I needed it, too! Very Grateful !!!
Funk’s definition is “a state of depression.” Even though I’m not “depressed” I realized that there are degrees of depression. Just feeling discouraged about something is a pulling down toward depression. So even though I haven’t been in a full blown “funk” I have been discouraged about local church decisions and secular politics. Need to make sure I’m spiritually active while being humanly engaged with these issues.
What a timely subject. Thanks Evan. Though not in a funk, after being retired and widowed, my life appeared to be without purpose or meaning. I am in the process of joining a new branch church and making new friends in a new location. I am confident my reliance on God and Christian Science will fill in any void that may seem to be present in my life.
Charla’s comment really hit home with me. When my marriage failed and I left my husband and father of my daughter, I thought why me? I had lead a moral life and looked at others who hadn’t, yet they had husbands and homes. They also had the respect that I didn’t have as a single parent. I had to work to support my daughter and resented those who were working just to have more material possessions. I would have given anything to be home with my daughter. It took many years and diligent study of Christian Science to resolve these feelings and gain a sense of self worth.
God has always been my constant companion and always will be. What a comforting thought!
Thank you Evan. Your posts are always so timely and inspirational. Thank you everyone for the good expressed here. Blessings to all today.
Great post and comments. I, too, loved the picture.
Until I spoke with Evan one day I was as close to being in a “funk” as I have ever been because of local church decisions. I cannot recall word for word what Evan said but it changed my thinking and put me back on track right away.
Maybe Evan will address this type of issue in his blog someday to help others.
Thanks to all! Yes, when I’ve found myself in a “funk,” I realize I have to wake up myself and not be so self-centered, thinking everything revolves around me. I love the third verse of Hymn 58: “In Thy house securely dwelling, Where Thy children live to bless, Seeing only Thy creation, We can share Thy happiness.” Then I see the way out of the “funk” thinking is to be selfless, to bless others even in a small way. This fills my heart with gratitude and the “funk” disappears!
Yes Daphne, thank you, I love that Hymn also very much 🙂
Funk spelled backwards Knuf
K- nuf ….. ok, enough
Thought a little comic relief
might be in order
Love you all
Yes, thank you dear Maximo,
thats funny, I can laugh about that, and that does good! 😉
Great Comments, all!
Makes me feel we are all in a big
Sometimes “funky” family. 😉
Maximo sums it up wonderfully.
(Humor sure can break up mesmerism
Sometimes!)
“That’s enough!”
I recall my Mom saying this to us kids when we had been pushing her to the limit of her patience.
;-))
Driving down a busy L.A. Freeway one day, in a funk, with the tears streaming down my face, I suddenly became aware of a car beside me. The passenger motioned me to roll down my window and she then ask my name. She said they would pray for me. This broke the mesmerism, my crying stopped and when I got to my grandmother’s I was ready to give and bless her. (I’d been going for comfort.) I am so grateful for ever present Love and your lift today. Lifting human self to God is the best way I know to overcome funk. Thank you Evan for this timely reminder and everyone’s comments. I love the humor Maximo.
I didn’t realise how important your blog is until I read today’s. I read it every day but rarely reply. There is always some point/points which are taken to heart. Thank you Evan and commentators.
Thanks, Even! So helpful