Lesson 49
How do I abide in God’s love and not in fantasy?
Fantasizing is one of the places where we sometimes find escape. It happens for both men and women when the pain of life’s situations finds comfort in fantasy, whether we recognize it or not. For wives whose husbands turn to pornography to medicate their pain, their very femininity gets crushed deeply. “When we realize we’re replaceable, our need for intimacy still remains,” Jennifer observed, “and it is easy to fall into the fantasy world for comfort. The deep rejection issues were so overwhelming for me that my flesh settled for a while in this sin. I confessed this to my accountability group and to my husband because I want to live an authentic life, free of sin and close to the Savior. If my husband is not able to provide for my need for intimacy or I feel rejected by something he’s said or done, I need to look into my heart and turn to Jesus to ask Him to show me where this temptation to escape may be coming from. He never fails. He is faithful. My intimacy with the Lord drowns all the pain, and covers not just my sin but also my need to escape through fantasy. This is something I’ve learned to choose constantly.”
Here are a few ideas on how to keep on the right path:
- Stay focused on your spiritual disciplines, keeping the importance of eternity in mind.
- Ask God to clearly reveal your goals so that you’re heading in the right direction.
- Understand that God values you and has placed you where you are for a purpose.
- Identify and call out the lies of the enemy and do not give in to fantasies.