I don’t know about you, but this week has been a fight for joy. No, there’s not anything majorly bad going on in my life, but I feel just kind of blah…foggy…like I’m stuck in a funk of sorts, and I can’t figure out why. Maybe it’s the horrible weather that we’ve been having here in southeast Iowa or the incessant drumbeat of bad news online, but I’m just feeling kinda down. Ever been there? Do you know what I’m talking about?

I think it might have something to do with just the daily rhythms of life. We get stuck in stable rhythms that feel like ruts. And ruts are frustrating. Ruts are boring.

Yeah, that might be the issue right there. We just feel bored. We have plenty of things to do, but we’re just bored with it all. We crave something new…something exciting…something to make us feel alive again.

Perhaps our schedules have gotten cluttered with activities and responsibilities, and we just desire a hard reset…a do-over…a clean slate. We’ve said “yes” to so many good things that we’ve inadvertently said “no” to the best things.

I feel like I’m rambling, probably am, but that’s just kind of sorta where I am at the moment…I feel foggy, stuck in a rut, and I’m a little bored despite having a cramped schedule filled with things to do. I know that I can’t be alone in such feelings. You either have had such feelings in the past, are feeling them now, or (mark my words) you’ll feel them at some given point in the future…That’s just life on this side of Glory.

So, how do I counsel myself out of such mundane, blah feelings…Well, I do the following…Maybe you’ll find my approach helpful for yourself…

1. I Preach To Myself – That’s right. I take the Word of God and read words like this from Psalm 42:5, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation, and my God.” Feelings come and go. Indeed, feelings are funny, fickle, fleeting things, don’t trust them! Trust in God. Hope in Him.
2. I Pray With Honesty – The Apostle Paul encourages us in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Certainly, I could stew in my feelings of ick OR I could talk to God about how I feel. When I pray, I certainly ask him to take away the negative feelings, but, more than that, I thank Him for the opportunity to practice humility before Him despite how I feel. Listen, we all want to feel good, but sometimes God uses the nasty feelings of life to draw us into a newer and better relationship with Him. Remember Job in the Old Testament?
3. I Post Things Online – Ha! Maybe not the best thing to do, but here I am honestly and transparently saying, “I feel kinda down today.” And you know what, that’s all right. The super critics out there will roll their eyes at this blog post. “Suck it up!”, they’ll say. “Count your blessings!”, they’ll shout. “And yes, I agree. I’m not going through anything severe or heartbreaking, and I have much to be thankful for. But writing for me is therapeutic. It gives me a good outlet to air out some thoughts…

So, there we have it. Do I feel better after all of that? Kind of. But I’m not looking for a quick fix to my feelings. God is good, loving, and wise despite my feelings of blah. So, I’ll choose to rest in Him.