Don't "Mentally Escape". Do This Instead.

Have you ever looked at a bill or debt of some kind, and wondered how you were going to pay it? Have you ever just closed your eyes and gave out a great, big sigh after seeing your baby/niece/nephew

make a big mess you knew YOU would have to clean up?

Moments like these make me think about Heaven more often. When I talk to God, complaining about my current living situation, I'll ask Him- "Will I really have a mansion in Heaven, no sorrow, no pain, no bills? Ooh let me just get a glimpse, Lord, and dwell there for a bit, because where I'm living right now and how life is LIFING right now, this is NOT IT!"

Do you talk to God in the same way, wondering about Heaven because the current situation in your life seems so hard? Do you want to just dwell on the future in Heaven and not think about what's going on right now?

If this is you (like it is me, often), I want to encourage you, friend, that in those tough, stormy moments/seasons in life, don't "mentally escape" with thoughts of Heaven. In fact, don't "mentally escape", at all! I was reminded by an old song that we should go back to singing more at our churches, that when we focus on Jesus, all things grow strangely dim. The song is titled "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus". Go and listen to that today and see how singing it, changes your view of Jesus vs. your current situation!

Whatever it is- the mess on the floor the kids keep making, the piled dishes after you've just washed them, the current jobless situation, the troubled marriage, the mean co-worker- the list could go on and on! Whatever it is, take a time out (in the moment of frustration, disappointment, hurt, etc.) to gaze at the beauty of Jesus and find Him more satisfying than anything else around you.