A Cycle of Spiritual Evolution
 
If a "funk" was  an actual thing, I'd describe it as a sneaky little critter that possesses the ability to seduce you into a depressed state of mind without you even knowing you were "depressed".  If a "funk" was a location, I'd describe it as a dismal, dark valley with terrain that made it challenging to escape.

In actuality, I have found a "funk" to be something very distinct to me and my state of mind. Quite honestly, for me, a "funk" is an emotional manifestation of a spiritual complacency in my life. I have noticed that when I am at a standstill in my relationship with God, I am most vulnerable to points of low moral and dampened spirit. What do I mean by this? Well, I'm glad you asked, lol.

Intimacy
 In my opinion, as we live our lives in an attempt to walk with God, oftentimes we do so in cycles. Sometimes we find ourselves in the cycle of intimacy. In this stage, we have a longing and yearning to be closer to God and the things that matter most to Him.

We have a mind to be more thoughtful of our neighbors and fellowman. We tend to be more patient and less critical of others. In addition, we are more likely to be more introspective, which makes it easier for us to work on becoming better people. Ultimately, I believe this stage is set for us to grow, mature, and evolve into a person we can be proud of. In this cycle, we tend to be optimistic, energetic, and innovative.

 Cocky
This brings us to the next cycle, the Cocky stage. In this stage, we feel confident that we are in a good and safe place with God, making us more susceptible to self deception. The self deception is the myth that we no longer have to do all of the things we did in the previous stage to maintain a healthy relationship with our Creator.

In the church community, you might hear people refer to the intimacy cycle with disparaging remarks like "It don't take all that" or they may refer to people who pursue intimacy as "being too deep." The knowledge, insight, personal growth, and revelation we gained in the previous stage is the premise for arrogance to blossom.

However, when this stage comes up, the true test is to determine whether to recognize it and resist high-mindedness or to blindly fall into the snare. During this cycle, we find ourselves feeling self righteous, and more permissive to do and experience things more freely.

In addition, we begin to judge others more harshly, believing we are the sole authority on what pleases God because we believe we were previously in a place that was considered "good standing ."

Funk
After sojourning in the land of self deception, we arrive at the last and final cycle, the Funk.  The Funk occurs almost  by osmosis. We don't feel it coming, nor do we see the progression of it's impending arrival. We just look up one day and we are in a Funk.

I believe the most disturbing thing about a Funk is its lulling effect. Its so soothingly painful, which makes it that much harder to abandon. At this point, we are doing good if we are just maintaining a quick acknowledgement of our Creator some time throughout the day. This often comes in the form of a morning greeting, a meal time blessing, or a quick night time prayer.

Suddenly, God seems so far away; but our own deception will often never allow us to admit it. We tend to believe we can manage just fine where we are. I find that this deficient state ushers in confusion, irritability, discontentment, and loneliness. At this point, our behavior is far more permissive and we have very little constraint when it comes to doing whatever we want to do.

Where Does This Leave Us?
Eventually, the hunger, disorientation and longing for soundness and peace of mind will become so great that it chases us right back into the arms of a loving and waiting Father. But of course, God already knows that we will come running back.

With open arms, He is waiting and eager for our arrival. Why? Because even though we felt alone, He never left after all. So, after all is said and done, we begin the process of spiritual evolution all over again. Right back at the stage of intimacy. Oh, what a lovely stage it is. Glad to be back.

Photo credit:  http://flic.kr/p/LGkmL