3 Fail-Proof Ways to Get Out of a Funk and Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

When life feels heavy, unclear, or overwhelming, it is easy to slip into discouragement.

Scripture gives us a beautiful picture of what it looks like to turn to God when we feel this way. On one of his worst days, we are told in 1 Samuel that after weeping in grief, “David found strength in the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6, NIV). Other translations say David “encouraged himself in the Lord.”

This moment happened in the ashes of Ziklag, where David and his men discovered their city burned and their families taken captive. His heart was crushed, and his people were turning against him. Yet Scripture says David strengthened himself not by changing his situation, but by turning his gaze to God. This is the kind of encouragement the Christian life invites us into.

So how do we encourage ourselves in the Lord when our emotions feel loud and our circumstances feel heavy? Here are three practical, biblical places to start.

1. Worship

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4, NIV)

Worship is one of the most powerful ways to shift our focus from what feels overwhelming to the One who never changes. Our circumstances and feelings move like shifting sand, but God remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. Paul’s charge to rejoice was given while he was imprisoned, which reminds us that worship does not require ideal conditions.

Nothing sets our minds on things above like declaring God’s goodness and faithfulness regardless of what is going on around us. Worship aligns our hearts with truth, anchors our minds in God’s character, and opens our eyes to His presence.

2. Get Outside

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1, NIV)

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26, NIV)

Creation itself is a sermon. Scripture often directs our eyes upward, outward, and beyond the borders of our current worries. When you step outside and take in the magnitude of God’s world, you remember the One who spoke it all into existence and sustains it moment by moment.

Jesus used nature to teach trust. Birds that never plant or harvest are faithfully provided for. Flowers that never labor are clothed with beauty. When we get out into God’s creation and behold the vastness of all He has made and cares for, our circumstances are suddenly put into new perspective. The God who tends to every sparrow tends to you.

3. Look Beyond Yourself

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:13-14, NIV)

When we lift our eyes from our internal struggles and choose to serve someone else, something powerful happens inside us. We remember we were created to reflect Christ in the world. We were made to partner with God as His hands and feet here on earth. Serving reorients our hearts, breaks the inward swirl of discouragement, and fills us with renewed purpose. Our whole outlook changes.

Fix Your Eyes on What is True

“…Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8, NIV)

Fix your eyes on Jesus, friend. Scripture tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7 that we have been given a spirit of self-control. Through the Holy Spirit, we have been given the gift of heavenly perspective. We do not have to be ruled by whatever circumstance feels insurmountable or by what makes sense only through human understanding.

“I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2, ESV)

When life feels confusing or heavy, lift your eyes. Strengthen yourself in the Lord as David did. Let worship reset your heart, let creation remind you of God’s care, and let serving others pull you out of the inward fog.

Your help comes from the Lord, and He is near.