When the Life You Imagined Competes With God’s Will
There was a season when I lived more in my imagination than I did in reality. I wasn’t daydreaming for fun. I was building a life. I had the timeline, the relationships, the victories, and the happy ending all mapped out in my mind. Somewhere along the way, that imaginary life became so real to me that when it didn’t happen, I found myself grieving as though I had suffered an actual loss. The truth was, I wasn’t mourning something God had taken away. I was mourning a life He had never promised me. Looking back, I can see that what felt like hope had become a stronghold.
Our culture feeds this way of thinking from the time we’re little girls. Fairy tales tell us a prince is coming to rescue us. Movies tell us the right relationship, the right career, or the right opportunity will finally complete us. Before long, we begin writing our own script, filling in every detail of how life is supposed to unfold. There is nothing wrong with having dreams, but there is danger in becoming so attached to our version of the story that we stop seeking God’s. Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) reminds us, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’“ Notice God didn’t ask us to create the plan. He simply asked us to trust the One who already knows it.
Fantasy can become a spiritual trap because it convinces us that our script is better than God’s Will. It keeps us emotionally invested in a future of our own making while distracting us from what Jesus Christ is doing today. Proverbs 16:9 (NLT) says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” There is a difference between believing God for His promises and insisting He fulfill our expectations. Faith submits. Fantasy demands. Faith follows Christ wherever He leads. Fantasy asks Jesus Christ to follow the map we’ve already drawn. And that is not going to work.
The enemy understands how powerful an unchecked imagination can become. He doesn’t always have to tempt us into obvious sin. Sometimes he simply encourages us to keep rehearsing the life we wish we had until we become dissatisfied with the one God has given us. Then disappointment settles into our hearts. Jesus Christ warned us exactly how the enemy operates in John 10:10 (NKJV): “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.” One of the enemy’s greatest deceptions is convincing us to chase an imaginary future while missing the rich and satisfying life Christ is producing through our obedience today.
The hardest part isn’t giving up the fantasy. The hardest part is accepting that the imaginary life has to die. That kind of surrender feels like grief because, in many ways, it is. We invested our emotions in something that existed only in our minds. Many of us built those stories as a way to survive disappointment, loneliness, rejection, or years of waiting. Yet our hearts can deceive us into believing those stories are truth. Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT) says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” If we’re not careful, we can become more devoted to the future we’ve imagined than to the Savior who is leading us.
Jesus Christ never calls us to fantasy. He calls us to truth. He said in John 8:31–32 (NLT), “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Freedom comes when we stop asking God to bless the life we’ve invented and begin embracing the life He is unfolding. His plans may not resemble our expectations, but they are always rooted in His wisdom, His love, and His perfect Will.
If you’ve been grieving the death of the life you imagined, you’re not without hope. Jesus Christ is not taking something beautiful away from you. He’s inviting you into something better. His plan doesn’t need editing, rescuing, or rewriting. It needs our surrender. When we finally lay down the fantasy, we make room for something far greater than anything we could have imagined—a life that brings glory to God, transforms our soul, and leads us exactly where Jesus Christ has purposed us to be from the very beginning. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“The Stronghold of Fantasy?”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2026. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.
