THE FUNK
Scripture Reading - Psalms 42:4-5 International Standard Version (ISV)
4 These things I will recall as I pour out my troubles within me: I used to go with the crowd in a procession to the house of God, accompanied with shouts of joy and thanksgiving.
5 Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for once again I will praise him, since his presence saves me.
Since we talked about “The FOG (Favor Of God)” in a previous message. We (ihlcc) thought we would balance it out with a message on “The FUNK” which could be an acronym for Feeling Unfriendly Not Knowingly. This is the exact opposite of demonstrating the Joy of the Lord for your strength and favor. The general definition of the word “funk” is a dejected mood, depressed, downcast, discouraged or disconnected socially from the people on hand. This takes place when people are overwhelmed with their circumstances or they are deceived into thinking they are at a disadvantage in life. Although we know that life isn’t always easy we must keep our faith in God to help us in our time of need. As we notice in the above verses there are times when sorrow will attempt to overwhelm us but the Psalmist reminds himself (his soul) to hope in God. Yes, the Good Lord gave us a memory to use to our advantage when negative thoughts try to invade our mind. We all have had things work against us at times but the key is not what comes against us but rather how we responded to those negative things. We have an Awesome Savoir and Lord in the person of the Jesus Christ. We all know Jesus suffered many things, due to no fault of His own but simply to help us by redeeming us from our sins. Since the Lord Jesus endured suffering for the Joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2) we must do likewise. God has given us His Precious Holy Spirit for just such a time as this, so that when troubling news arrives our solution is right inside of us. In the New Testament we don’t need to look toward the hills for our help but rather we can look into God’s Holy Word (The Holy Bible) to remind ourselves of exactly what God has already promised us. If we need healing we have a scripture that states by His Stripes we were healed.-1 Peter 2:24 If we need financial help we have a scripture that states my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.-Philippians 4:19 However, the most important verse that we all need is the simple confession of our faith in God that states whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus shall be saved.-Romans 10:13 Yes, this is salvation in general but it also covers all situations in life where you need God’s help even when you don’t know how to articulate the problem. Just call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus for help because His Name is always sufficient to fix broken things in our lives when coupled with our faith in His Cleansing Blood. So please don’t allow yourself to be in “The Funk” when God has been so good to you and if you say, “I don’t know about God’s goodness because my life has been a big mess I really don’t know God.” We (ihlcc) can fix that right now by calling upon the Name of Jesus to be saved and according to Romans 10:8-13 you shall be saved. Then you we be an open candidate to receive God’s great Grace and mercy to overshadow all “Funk” in your life. Just remember in Jesus Christ you have an option (a choice) to be happy in “the FOG” but without the Lord Jesus “the Funk” will be your way of life. You must chose your own destiny in God, no one else can do it, no, not even God. Amen!