Escaping

Just Relax
It's been a long day, and you are ready to just relax and turn your brain off. You grab your novel and find a comfortable position. As soon as you open the book, you are in another world. You no longer have to worry about anything that is going on around you, because you imagine you are a part of the world in the book. You can be anyone you want in this book. Life seems so much more exciting in the book that even when you are not reading it, your mind is there.

You find yourself feeling depressed or down, and you know you can always find something to do online. You surf around on Face Book, Pintrest, Utube, and check your emails. Somehow it seems to numb your mind, and the empty time you had is filled or rather passed.

You are board and you find a movie to watch. You can feel all the emotions of the character you like best. Somehow, you find yourself wishing that it were real. The next time you are board you just relive the movie in your imagination.

You are lying in bed drifting off to sleep and you imagine up your own utopia. All the things you wish could happen to you can be real in your mind.

It's that hobby of yours that you can turn to when you need something to occupy your mind. You can ignore all of the other issues in your life when you are shooting those baskets, playing that instrument,  painting that picture, finding the right shoes, or hooking that fish. You can just let your mind be numb.

Mental Escapism
All of your troubles, stresses, and worries can be forgotten and ignored when your mind escapes. We all have ways of doing it, whether I listed yours or not. This is a temptation for all of us, but our troubles will not dissolve if we try to escape them. Many of us do not realize that we have addictions that we use to help us cope. Perhaps we are not even escaping from something but to something. We may just be escaping from our boredom to a more thrilling, interesting, and exciting world. The fact is when we are discontent with the situation God has placed us in, the temptation is to create our own world in our minds. There is nothing wrong with reading, having a hobby, or watching a movie. There is a problem with using these things to escape reality though.

• Not God Glorifying One of the problems with escaping is that there are no other realities. No matter how much we fantasize and fancy we can only be in this world were God has placed us. If we are mentally in a world that does not exist or that we do not exist in, we cannot be glorifying the God who created us to live in this world in the place that we are in. 
• Shows Distrust in God Acts 17:26 says,"and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation," God knows all things. He knows exactly the right geographical location for us, exactly the right year for our birth, and exactly the right circumstances for us to be in. When we try to escape from the place that God has put us mentally, we are showing our distrust in God's ability to work out the details of our lives.
• Not Kingdom Building We are also not able to further God's kingdom when we escape from reality. We are supposed to be seeking first God's kingdom and His righteousness, not the most exciting or pleasurable life. Sometimes building God's kingdom means loving that little baby who cannot thank you, doing the dishes again with a cheerful heart. Sometimes it means getting out of your comfort zone and sharing the gospel. Anything done to build God's kingdom though, cannot be done in a fantasy world or in our imagination.
• Practicing Discontentment Another problem with escaping from reality is that we are not practicing contentment. Paul said in Philippians 4," I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." I have often had to repent of a discontented spirit and and pray for God to help me to learn to be content. When I notice that my mind is escaping, this is one of the major indications that I need to repent of discontentment.
• Not A Good Use of Time No matter how heroic, productive, talented, or virtuous we are in our imaginations, all of our accomplishments from our fantasies do not carry over into reality. In the same way that winning money in the game of Monopoly will not profit you the next time you make a purchase. It is simply not profitable to escape from reality. We are only given a short amount of time on this earth and we must use is well. Ephesians 5:15-17  says, "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." This is not an option but a command.

Running From Problems, Tasks, and Responsibilities
Often we are like Jonah who tried to escape from the task God had given him, and Elijah who tried to run from his troubles. However, God has intentionally placed each of us exactly were we are for a reason. 

Embracing Your Circumstances

Esther was a Jew who was chosen to be the Kings wife without her consent. While she was queen, a decree went out to kill all the Jews; however, it was against the law for the queen to go to the king unless she was summoned. Mordecai was Esther's uncle and he worked for the king. Upon receiving this news he sent word to His niece. Esther 4:13-17 "Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, 'Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews.  For if you remain silent at this time, relief anddeliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?'Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,  ^'Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.'  So Mordecai went away and did just as Esther had commanded him."

Such a Time as This

Perhaps you find yourself in a difficult situation that you'd just like to escape, but perhaps God has put you in it for such a time as this? No doubt, God had a reason for Esther becoming queen, and he has a reason for everything He does in your life too. If you find yourself having a hard time embracing the circumstances you are in, ask God to help you to see why He has put you there. God may have something to teach you, something he wants you to do, or a character he wants to refine in you. When you embrace the life that God has given you and the plans He has for you, you will find that life is not a thing to escape from but to live for the glory of God. 

Where does your mind tend to escape to? How do you think we can cultivate contentment in out lives?

Is there something you are try to escape from? How do you think God would have you deal with that situation? How can you build God's kingdom right were you are? Do you trust that God knows what He is doing with your life? How well are you using your time? Do you think that escaping your problems is a good way to handle them? May we live life to the fullest for the glory of God!