Isaiah 49:1-2 Are you in a funk, over a funk or entering a funk?

*THE SCRIPTURE USED TODAY  Isaiah 49: 1-Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. 2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,   in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished  arrow   and concealed me in his quiver *DEFINITIONS REVIEWED: islands: (those isolated); distant: (reserved, unapproachable);  Before: (in preparation for, anticipation /expectation of); spoken: (past participle of speak, which is to talk, to talk means others can hear what’s spoken); sharpened: ability to cut(remove (something) from something larger )/pierce(penetrate); shadow: a dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.; hid: put or keep out of sight; conceal from the view or notice of others; polished:shiny as a result of being rubbed move one's hand or a cloth repeatedly back and forth on the surface of (something) with firm ; pressure accomplished; arrow: a shaft with a pointed head at one end and often flight-stabilizing (no fluctuations) vanes at the other, meant to be shot from a bow; concealed: (hid, covered, kept secret, out of sight, invisible); quiver:  (an archer's portable case for holding arrows)/  arsenal: arsenal, quiver of ready responses..

*MY INTERPRETATION: (Isaiah speaking) Those of you who have isolated yourselves and those who are unapproachable pay attention. For I was called by the Lord before I was born even while I was still in my mothers womb he spoke (so other’s heard it) my name. He gave me the ability to speak words that caused others to remove from their life that which was unpleasing to the Lord. Consider how small I am to him: he was able to hide me(conceal from others view) with the shadow of his hand. With continuous, firm pressure, he created in me the ability to penetrate hearts, without fluctuating and all the while he hid me in his arsenal for use at the perfect time.

*MY RESEARCH & REFLECTIONS OF THE PASSAGE APPLIED TO MY LIFE

There are times that I prefer being alone and choose to stay away from others. During those times, I’m seen as distant, withdrawn or unsociable. I don't enjoy those times for that is not the person I want to be nor is it a person God can use to build his kingdom. But God knows I will get in those ruts and he already has it planned whom he will send to speak to me during those times. That someone will speak into my life the words I need to get out of my funk. My concerns are not too much for him. Think about it: if he has someone ready to help me BEFORE I actually need it, surely whatever has put me in that funk is no match for him.

On the other hand, just as he has someone to help me when I am in the dumps, at times, I am the person he uses to help others. But being that person requires me to go through an on-going, physical process. It is through my own trials that I gain the stability required to force my way into other’s lives in order to be the help they need for that moment. I’m like his bag of magic tricks, he waits for just the right time to use them so they will be most effective. And so are you. You are either in a funk, over a funk or entering a funk. Just know that whichever one it is, it won't last and it has a purpose.

Understand Our Purposes

UNDERSTANDING OUR PURPOSES

(Proverbs 20:5) The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters but a man of understanding draws them (his purposes) out. (Emphasis throughout this article has been placed on the plural of purpose, so keep in mind, we have more than one purpose in this life.)

(The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters): What are purposes? Purposes are the goals or deepest desires a man intends to accomplish. What are deep waters, well, that may take a little more than one sentence to explain?

Deep waters according to www.windows2universe.org  are found in oceans where depths can reach up to 32k feet. The water continuously cycles through different zones between the surface water and deep water. This cycle is called the conveyor belt cycle and the zones consist of the sunlight zone and the trenches. The sunlight zone is where the most sunlight touches. The trenches have water less than zero degrees and yet life still exist there. The deep ocean waters make up 90% of the ocean’s volume. As the surface water becomes colder and the salt density increases the surface will then sink into the trenches. The temperature of the surface water has a greater effect than salinity on determining when the water sinks into the trenches.  

                How can this relate to our lives? While we are in our sunlight zone we see possibilities and our destinations. We have visions and things we want to accomplish. Sometimes we lose our focus; we get cold and stop sharing the gospel with others. This in turn allows the ‘salt’ that we are supposed to be to the world to build up within ourselves. Once our hearts become colder and the salt density increases in our lives, we begin to sink into the trenches.

While we are in the trenches we lose our focus, forget the real purposes we were created for, and no longer resolve to accomplish the deepest desires of our soul. This is a continuous cycle that we repeat. There are times we in the sun light zone and could never imagine being in the trenches and there are times we are in the trenches and feel we will never see the sunlight zone again. But just as life still exist in the trenches, so does our purposes.  

Our purposes are lodged deep within your spirit. These desires propel us to live a life that matters, to fight to get back in the sunlight zone. Living a life that matters occurs when we are passionate about our purposes. The passions we are given are there to meet a need in today’s world. What are your passions? When is the last time you thought about them or spent time developing them?

(but) I once heard a speaker at a conference state that once a person uses the word ‘but’ in a statement, everything before it is irrelevant. The definitions I found for the word ‘but’ are: contrary to expectation, except that or for; in spite of or despite of. So this says to me that in spite of the fact that our purposes are not always easy to reach, because they are so deep within us, we have the capacity to grab a hold of them.

(a man of understanding) To have an understanding is to have the ability to learn, judge and make decisions. We must discern our purposes by taking the time to gain self-knowledge and come to a realization that our purposes were given to meet today’s needs in some way. Comprehending and mastering the skills necessary to achieve the desires we are passionate about must be intentional. It will not simply stumble upon us.

 (draws them out) To draw out our purposes requires a deliberate effort. We must first formulate the purposes by gathering data or evidence about ourselves in order to gain insight into those ambitions.  We must pull out, take or extract thoughts and desires we have hidden deep in our souls for fear of letting others see them or fear of failing at achieving them and mentally create what they would look like if we actually did them. Once we accept the purposes we were created to achieve and begin to act on them accordingly then we will also begin to draw to us ideas that will help us accomplish those desires.

While researching this topic, I came across Think Simple Now by Tina Su and she provides an article titled 15-questions-to-discover-your-personal-mission. It is a step to help get you started if you want to discover your purpose. (I have not reviewed her entire website, but I think these questions are relevant to my discussion.) 

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