She didn’t care about who she married as long as she could get married in Disneyland. Reading about this young 17-year-old Arab teen and her conversation with her girlfriends in Saudi Arabia was eye-opening. She and her girlfriends had grown up watching Disney movies. They knew they had no control over choosing a prince—that was for their parents to arrange, but somehow they believed that if they could have a Disney wedding at one of the theme parks, all would work out in the end.
I put down the article and wanted to scream. “Has the world been so consumed with fantasy that we’ve lost touch with reality? Wake up!”
God asks us to engage with Him and escape what would distract and consume our lives. His Word isn’t a book of fantasy stories and promises. Our true prince Jesus is fighting through the snares and distractions of life’s underbrush, demons and the dragon’s breath of media noise to get through to us. He wants to kiss us with His eternal life, and He is preparing a place for us that’s not a fantasy, according to John 14:2.
The question is, will we wake up in time to seek His true love instead of the myths of our culture?
The world today is consumed with self-interest, self-accomplishments and selfies. We can’t help seeking something more and away from the ordinary. We’re on an endless search for an escape and to find fulfillment. It’s why we find it so easy to plunge into adrenaline-rush experiences and even theme parks. What we often forget is that when God created us, He ingrained in our souls the desire to search for His royal bloodline. He wants to engage our minds, surrender our hearts and seek His true eternal freedom, and we can’t escape our Creator’s purpose.
There is never a bottom to the wishing well. We will always want more, and it is so easy to get sucked into the deceiver’s endless offers. But the truth is, it’s empty. When you choose the selfish box, you’ve pricked your finger, bitten the poison apple and fallen asleep. The Bible says in Proverbs 31:30, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” God wants you to invest in Him. When we value what He values, the world comes alive, and we see things that were once hidden. Our blind eyes see and our deaf ears hear. It’s the mystical key that opens doors and wakes us up to find the ultimate truth.
True freedom, love and peace comes by surrendering to the all-encompassing love of our Savior. When we choose the Prince of Peace, we choose “happily ever after” for real. It’s an arranged marriage that will never go wrong. No Disneyland, no Fantasyland and no earthly prince can compare to all that God’s planned for us right now—today (Rom. 8:38-39). {eoa}
Kathleen Cooke‘s devotional, Hope 4 Today: Stay Connected to God in a Distracted Culture encourages readers to engage with God. As co-founder of Cooke Media Group (cookemediagroup.com) and The Influence Lab, she publishes a bi-monthly journal (influencelab.com/women). Find out more at kathleencooke.com or on Twitter @KathleenRCooke
This article originally appeared at kathleencooke.com.
Janet Perez Eckles 
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