My Thirty Day Faith Dare – Day 18

Get Out of the Funk

Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.

Today’s Truth
Hebrews 12:2-3 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Today’s Dare: Live with a New Focus

The author talks about being in a “funk” – down, depressed, bad attitude… that our focus is skewed, and instead of living above our circumstances as an overcomer, we begin to live under the mess. We get distracted, get our eyes off Jesus, and grow weary and lose heart – the negatives. She says we should focus, focus, focus on Him, not on ourselves.

Today’s truth is speaking to me…
I hear what the author is saying, and I do agree that we need to try and live our lives seeing Him and knowing He is our foundation. However, that being said, I have to say that I don’t altogether agree with her either. I know it isn’t healthy to stay stuck in the mud, but by the same token we’re not just some frozen smiley-faced people who easily rise above the circumstances and situations of our lives. There are dark valleys God asks us to walk through, trials we need to face to grow… and sometimes they stink and are painful and horrible. Frankly, if I’m having a hard time I need someone to just be with me, put their arms around me. If they started being all kinds of cheerful, I might have to slap them! And if someone is having difficulty rising above, don’t lay a guilt trip on them making them think if they just focus, focus, focus it will all be better and just pull up your big girl panties and get on with it. Oh yeah, that’s gonna help.

God is asking me to…
Not be too cynical (sorry). Be real – if I’m hurting, check it out – am I wallowing? Am I trusting as best I can and looking to Him? If so, is this something I need to sit with for awhile and learn a lesson? And maybe if so, I DO need to reach for His hand and ask Him to pull me up.

My challenge is to…
Faithfully, consistently be looking to Jesus, and to keep it real.