What do you want to do when you grow up? Some of you will recall such questions from your Kindergarten teachers. The idea was to encourage you at a tender age to exercise your power of imagination. Imagination is a God-given gift which when fully exploited, will usher a supernatural life.
The word imagination according to the dictionary means “the process or power of forming a mental image of something not real or present.” Many people confuse imagination with vision. But vision is “a mental image produced by the imagination”.
You can’t have vision without an imagination. And while these words might be used interchangeably sometimes, I want to focus on imagination, the ability to see what isn’t present. Most adults associate imagination with childishness. They’ve been taught that using their imagination or believing in something they cannot see is fantasy. This same dictionary calls fantasy an “illusion” or “a delusion,” a “whimsical notion,” or “a daydream.” Just look at the definition of the word delusion: “a false belief held in spite of invalidating evidence.”
Fantasy isn’t real. It isn’t based on validating evidence. But imagination is real. Imagination is the ability to see with the mind what you cannot see with the eyes. If I were to say the word dog to you, you wouldn’t picture the letters D-O-G in your mind. Instead, your mind would bring up a picture of a dog. If you owned a black puppy, that’s probably the picture you would see.
However, I could change your picture with my words. If I said the words big black dog, your picture would change. Imagination helps you “see” what can’t be seen. It creates the pictures in your mind that help you remember, read, and plan. But imagination can only work with the information you give it, good or bad, right or wrong (Luke 6:45).
If you fill your imagination with the garbage of this world, that’s what it will produce. But if you renew your mind to the truth of the Word, your imagination will help you receive from God (Rom. 12:2) I always want to align my thinking with the what the Word of God says about me for example, Ephesians 1:3 says that I have been blessed with all spiritual blessings. So I tell myself that I am blessed. That is my usual response to people when they ask me how I am.
When the Lord spoke to Abram (before his name was changed to Abraham) in Genesis, God told him to leave his father’s house and go to a land he would later inherit (Gen. 12:1). Abram couldn’t see the land God spoke of; he didn’t know from experience that it would be a good land. As far as we know, he had never traveled any farther than Haran (Gen. 11:31). So, why did Abram leave everything he knew?
I believe it was because the Lord’s words engaged his imagination. Abram’s imagination was essential in his ability to receive from God and thus became Abraham. And so is yours. You cannot accidentally accomplish God’s will for your life.
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You have to align whatever you are doing with God’s will and purpose for your life. If there is a misalignment, you will never be able to fully accomplish God’s plans and purposes for your life.
Sadly, most people don’t know God’s will for their lives. They don’t have a vision, a mental image of their future. They’re like water, just going with the flow, following the path of least resistance. But any old fish, even a dead one, can float downstream. When the Lord spoke to Abram and told him to go, Abram didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know what life would look like outside Haran, but he started out anyway. Abram had a vision of a better inheritance than what Ur or Haran could provide, and as he sought the Lord, Abram’s imagination began working. As he traveled the land, Abram saw himself owning it. He saw his descendants living there. His imagination produced a vision that became clearer and clearer the farther he got from Ur.
I believe this is why the Lord gave Abraham the promise that his seed would be as numerous as “the dust of the earth” (Gen. 13:16) and “the stars” (Gen. 15:5). Every day Abraham had dust on his feet, and every night he looked at the stars. These things kept God’s promise constantly in front of him and helped quicken his imagination. Abraham’s vision was like a roadmap for his life.
This is how you and I should live our lives. It is very important to have a clear vision about one’s life. This should be based on God’s plans and purposes for your life. We are all born originals but most of us die copycats. We are quick to just copy what other people are doing before we are satisfied that this what God wants us to do.
Most Christians don’t have a clear vision for their lives. They cannot see God’s will. But instead of seeking the Lord and engaging their imaginations like Abraham did, they let the circumstances of life push them around. Their lives are driven by what they hear, see, touch, smell or feel. They never allow God to determine their footsteps. The Bible says that the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord not by circumstances.
They leave a good church and the support system of friends and family to go overseas to do care work because everyone is doing so. Admittedly there are people who have done that and are doing very well, please don’t get me wrong. However, their success doesn’t guarantee your success if that is outside God’s plans and purposes for you. We have people who went overseas or across the boarders who are living miserable lives. This is because they were just following what other people were doing without ensuring that their behavior was in line with God’s plans and purposes for their lives.
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Vision, or the image produced in your imagination, gives you hope for the future. Without it, you’ll never fulfill God’s plan for your life. Circumstances will divert you, hardship will steal from you, and you’ll quit. There are people who quit just before their breakthrough. This is why it is very important to ensure that whatever you are doing is fully aligned with God’s plan and purpose for your life. When you know that you know that you know that you are at the center of God’s will for your life, no amount of turbulence or hardship will move you from there. God’s Word over your life will remain a firm anchor that will keep you focused on His plans and purposes for your life. This means that your vision has to be birthed from God’s will for your life.
This explains why you see someone who may be going through some serious turbulence and hardship not quitting because they are very clear that they are fully aligned with God’s will for their life.
There have been many opportunities for me to quit some of the assignments that I have been working on, however, I haven’t because I know that I know that I know that I am doing exactly what God has called me to do. I am not moved by what I see. I am moved by my faith in my faithful God. My vision has kept me going.
I always encourage myself by focusing on what God told me to do, and now I am beginning to see the results. A person’s vision will sustain them when everything around them seems contrary. Do you have a vision a hope-filled picture of the future? Does that picture match God’s picture for you? The good news is, regardless of the decisions you’ve made or how far off course you find yourself, God is better than any GPS system. If you’ve made a wrong turn or gotten off track, He can get you back on. But you’ll need the power of your imagination.
Dr Doug Mamvura is a graduate of Charis Bible School. Feedback: [email protected] or X @dougmamvura
