Imagination is the ability to see the unseen and it is a gift from God.
By dr doug mamvura
It is sad that most people have been damaged in their imagination and some have perverted imagination. When we are young, we are able to dream and imagine things. Our imagination is wild and limitless. In addition, our imaginations are pure. You never hear an eight-year-old girl saying when I grow up I want to be a prostitute or a young boy saying when I grow up I want to be a serial killer. They will tell you they want to be a doctor, a pilot or president. It is sad to note that as people grow older, some of these noble dreams are lost or perverted.
“God can do anything, you know, far more than you can ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams” (Ephesians 3:20 – Message Bible). The amplified version says: “Now to Him who is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly more than we dare ask or think infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes or dreams according to His power that is at work within us.”
This is awesome. This tells me that I can never ask too much from my Father. I can never think too big beyond what my Father is able to do for me. Oh, no wonder the Bible says you don’t have because you ask not. Why is it that most of us as believers are unable to take advantage of this blank cheque from our Father in heaven?
Most of us are able to quote or memorise scriptures such as “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37) and yet we don’t see this picture inside of ourselves. We confess defeat and we talk defeat. We say we were not given a “spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind” and yet we are tormented by fear.
The answer to the question above is that we don’t have the right image of God inside our spirits and we also have a wrong image of ourselves. It is not enough to quote scriptures. We have to believe what the Word says about us and know the true nature of God.
Some of us still have a warped image of God. We see him as this mean, uncaring God, ready to punish us the moment we sin — no wonder we dare not ask Him anything. I have news for you. God is exactly the opposite. He is a loving Father who demonstrated His love by sending His Son to die for us while we were still sinners. He became poor so we could become rich. He who knew no sin became sin so we could become the righteousness of God. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He is the one who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above that which we can think or imagine.
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I believe God loves me so much that He carries my picture in His wallet. He knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb and I am fearfully and wonderfully made. “And that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:14).
The scriptures from Ephesians 3:20 quoted from both the message and Amplified versions are challenging us to “dare God” and ask something beyond our “wildest dreams” or beyond our “imagination”.
God wants us to resurrect our dreams and imagination for His glory. As we do that, we should just be careful about dream killers or vision assassins in our midst. These can be our families, friends or enemies.
We were created in “God’s image”. We should meditate on the meaning of this.
Our imagination is a gift from God and part of His image in man. We have the ability to take dominion and to rule and yet some of us are wallowing in poverty. What is the image of God in man? What does it mean “I am created in the image of God”?
Work is the image of God in man. We have to work just as our Father (John 5:17). You work because it is a form of your worship to God. Your office should be your pulpit. One of the major dominant images of God in man is that we create. God as a creator has also given us creative abilities. We are all created in the image of God, hence both believers and unbelievers have creative abilities. One can look at artists, film makers, musicians, writers or architects, among many other professionals — this all has to do with imagination.
The reason why we are unable to imagine as God intended for us to do is because our minds have not been “renewed”. The renewal of minds is not just about getting our theology straight; it is also about having the right image of God and His true nature locked inside of us. We should also have the right image about ourselves and forget about false humility that some of us tend to have. An example you hear a believer saying, “I am a sinner saved by grace.” NO. Once you are in Christ, you are a new creation, “the old is gone and behold everything has become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Know who you are in Christ.
Some of us still have images of self-pity, poverty, weakness, failure and disease and yet we quote scriptures that say exactly the opposite such as — “As Christ is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). Is Christ sick? Is He broke? So why should you suffer? Allow the Holy Spirit to change that image inside you through the Word of God. He is the best Teacher.
It is important that we continue to dream and imagine things so we can bring out the gift of creativity that God has placed within each and every one of us. This means forming mental images or concepts of what is not present to the senses. It is also the ability to face and resolve difficulties.
We are dreamers and visionaries. Unless we dream today, we will be stuck tomorrow. We have to have dreamers today if we are going to have a successful tomorrow. God put dreams inside all of us. Learn how to dream. Hope is part of your imagination. (Hebrews 11:1) states that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” Faith brings the unseen to seen.
There is also negative imagination whose mother is sin and father wickedness. Sin damages imagination. In Genesis 6:5, we see the impact of sin and wickedness on imagination — “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on earth and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually.”
Many people have negative imaginations which start from thoughts. It is only the Word of God that is able to wash and cleanse these evil or negative imaginations which are counterproductive. God’s Word has not had its intended effect until it changes the picture inside you of the truth and purges your conscience.
It is important that we “take our thoughts captive and cast down all these evil imaginations” (2 Corinthians 10:4). The mind is the battlefield in which thoughts and reasoning contrary to God’s Word are to be captured and submitted to Christ, our Commander. Just as enemy soldiers are captured in war, so rebel thoughts must be taken captive and made to submit to Christ. Unless we do that, our imaginations will not glorify God.
l Dr Doug Mamvura is a graduate of Charis Bible School. Feedback: [email protected] or Twitter @dougmamvura
