The Real Meaning of Life

I’m in a funk. I’m not okay. My ducks aren’t in a row.

I read Isaiah 11 and started jotting down my reflections on it, but I got interrupted and never finished it. This morning I opened it back up to finish, but I just can’t do it. I still love God, I just don’t “feel it” today. You know why? Satan is messing with my brain. He doesn’t want me to finish it. And because I try to stay alert to these things, it didn’t take long for me to figure it out. God knows too. He knows I’m trying, and He knows the temptation I am under.

Satan wants me to give up on reading the Bible. It’s more fun to wake up and scroll Facebook than it is to read the Bible, or at least that is what he is trying to instill into me. He wants to make it easy for me to say, “I’ll take another day off from studying God’s word, then I’ll start again tomorrow. Then it turns into just one more day. Then another. Then another. Then, it is just a habit, a bad habit.

I could force it. I could sit down and force myself to finish it, but then it would be like the first time I read the Bible, it was just the mechanics of reading without putting my heart into it. And I refuse to do that. God deserves more than that. He deserves my best. He wants me to do it out of love for Him and not because it is a “chore” I have to accomplish.

The reason I decided to share this is because I’m not perfect, and I know what everyone goes through. I’ve been there multiple times, I’m still there obviously. I’m retired now, but when I was still working, I made it a point to pray every morning before heading for the office. It was a great day to start my day, to get my mind right, to focus on the important things in life. But it was easy to skip that morning prayer. And usually my day just wasn’t as good. As soon as you close the door on God and open it to Satan, he will have a hay day with you. And it’s truly all in our head. Nothing has physically changed with our lives, it’s just that our mindset is different. If we don’t start the day focusing on God, we won’t fulfill the day focusing on God.

It’s not about obedience. It’s about living right. As Christians, we are supposed to follow Christ, to walk in His footsteps, to be kind, loving, compassionate, caring for each other, forgiving of mistakes, being at peace with our family, friends, co-workers, and even just the people you meet on the street. That is what Jesus would do.

But we can’t live that life if our heart isn’t into it. So, we start the day with Him, and it is so much easier to spend the day with Him.

But what about the funk? What about the feeling that my heart just isn’t in to it? How do I fix that? I regroup. And writing a blog like this is a part of that regrouping. While I’m writing these thoughts on digital paper and sharing them, I’m looking at it as if I’m typing a letter to God, explaining my situation to Him. He already knows, but it is nice to tell Him so that He knows you’re acknowledging the problem. He will forgive me for missing a day, He understands that my heart isn’t into it and He too, doesn’t want me to fake it. And once I get this off my chest, get back on track, and tell Satan he’s not welcome here, God will give me strength to overcome. And the next time it won’t be so easy to be in a funk. With each passing day, I will get stronger, and stronger, strength given to me by Christ, until there may not be any funk.

Will it always be perfect? No, but it will be better. You can’t give up. That’s what Satan wants you to do, it’s what He’s hoping for. So if you’re in a spiritual funk, don’t think all is lost, and don’t give up. God is always there waiting for us to get over the hump of whatever obstacle we are facing. We all sin, we just need to acknowledge it, ask for forgiveness, then get our mind right. Otherwise, we’ll get lost and may not find our way back home.

I’ll pray for everyone who is in a funk for endurance and resilience, and I ask that you pray for me. I’ll sit and meditate on this moment, and I’ll be back tomorrow.

God bless you all! Hang in there!