Laura's Latest: Hopes And Dreams
Let’s play a little game. Imagine a beautiful park, full of lovely green grass and flowers. There is a big pond and the water is clear enough for you to see all the brightly coloured fish swimming around. There are ducks washing themselves and bobbing in and out of the water. Imagine going to feed them. Think. Are you walking in the park or running? I wonder if you imagined the weather to be sunny or rainy? If you were wearing a coat or summer shorts or how many ducks you were feeding?
It is amazing how powerful our imagination is. When you think about it, we use it all the time. For example: we use it to make plans, tell stories, describe a situation or place, write and cook! We even use it when we are not really thinking about it, for instance, when we are planning the way to our house, we have a picture in our mind of the route we would take and whether we would walk, drive, fly or catch a train.
(verb)
To form or have mental picture or idea of something
To believe that something is probably true
Synonyms: Assume, picture, presume, theorise, visualise, think about, conceive, see.
Have you ever felt scared or worried? We all have at some point. As we know, the enemy tries to throw us off our track sometimes. One of his well-known tricks is to plant silly seeds in our minds and our imaginations can get involved. Sometimes we can think over and over about all the things that could go wrong, rather than what could go right. This is exactly what the enemy wants to do to distract you and take your minds off your goals and all the great things God has planned for you.
Although the enemy may plant seeds in our minds, this does not mean that they have to grow into anything. Just like a plant, unless it is watered, given light and oxygen, it cannot continue or develop and it will die. We have the power and authority from God, to take those silly seeds and throw them straight in the bin! We also have the choice to allow God’s beautiful Word, The Truth, to thrive in our minds as we meditate on it and imagine it until it becomes what we expect.
2 Corinthians 10:5 and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
God handcrafted us with imagination for good purpose. All the way throughout The Bible there are accounts of people using their imaginations to reach their goals. Think of Noah when God told him to build the Ark. When God gave him all the measurements, materials and tools he needed, Noah would have used his imagination to picture how all of the pieces would eventually look, once fitted together. He didn't have an instruction manual; he had to create an image is his mind of the end goal so he could work towards it.
Declaring and believing are two important keys to succeeding. You may notice many people all around you saying things like, “That probably won't work for me.” Or, “I doubt I will pass that test.” It is easy to make comments like that without thinking but it is dangerous as our words have power. If you say something enough times, you begin to believe it, for good and for bad. If you believe the worst-case scenario, you tend to speak it out but God intends for us to use our minds and words for good:
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Remember looking at the definition of 'imagine' earlier? Instead, couldn't we visualise and conceive, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy? Renewing our minds in this way will have a massive positive impact on our lives.
There is a Scripture in The Bible that explains:
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue.
Think of the time that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. He didn't stand outside the tomb and just imagine him living again, neither did He say that Lazarus was long gone and wouldn't get back up. Instead He used His words to activate His belief in him being brought back to life.
John 11:43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out.
Jesus teaches us about the power we have to speak life into situations and people's lives, including our own.
Let’s play another game. So you have a Maths exam coming up. It is the exam that determines your final grade in that subject. You know that you have to get a specific mark to pass and you know that the test has been failed by a lot of your friends. Many people have told you, “It is so hard; I doubt you will pass it.” In this situation, we know that negative talk like that, is NOT from God. In His Word, He gives us scripture after scripture about how we CAN succeed and we CAN do things that seem hard and even impossible. So what we do, is take God’s Word which is the Truth and think about it, just as you thought about the green, grassy park and the bobbing ducks earlier.
Let’s look at some scriptures to help us:
Mark 11:23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
John 14:13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.
Now picture that mountain (Mark 11:23) in your mind. Imagine the mountain is your exam. Picture yourself writing all of your negative thoughts and doubts on post-it notes and then sticking them to the rock face. Jesus told us that if we tell our mountain (problem) to be gone and believe it will go, it will go. So instead of imagining and talking about how impossible it might look, let’s imagine us doing homework and studying for the test.
Picture yourself understanding and filling in the answers, feeling confident. Think of yourself finishing the test and your results coming back to you with a big ‘PASS’ stamp and a ‘well done’ sticker to top it off! Now let’s activate it by saying out loud. “God says in His Word that I can overcome anything through Him. I am going to pass that test, in Jesus’ name!”
I am not saying that is always easy to do, when you have grown up practising how to “hope for the best but expect the worst.” It goes against exactly what the world says, so of course it feels a bit strange at first. One thing that makes me feel motivated to think big, is Jesus. He always looks at what The Father says. He remembered and spoke out God’s Word even in times of trial or temptation. He always looks at the bigger picture. He has integrity and strength. As newborn Christians, we have that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead living on the inside of us! We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength!
God has made us all unique. Though we have some things in common and can relate to people in many ways, we are not exactly the same. We might have the same hair colour or shoe size, but what God has put in your heart may be different to what He has put in mine. This is because God has a perfect plan, purpose-built for you. You have specific gifts, talents and characteristics that I may not have. We all have our own preferences, likes and dislikes and that is just fine!
There are many things that God has put in my heart to do and I am on my own journey. I spent so many years using my imagination to condemn myself and stick myself in a bubble of fear and negativity. It has been such a blessing to read the many accounts in The Bible of all the individuals God used and worked through. These people were not all kings or warriors from birth. They acquired these positions from God! Look at the apostle Paul. He was once a murderer of Christians, yet God used him and he became a great man, bringing many to Christ. He continues to teach us to this day through his huge contribution in The Bible. David was a shepherd. He was bullied by his brothers, yet he went on to defeat Goliath and became King. Joseph was sold as a slave. He was imprisoned, yet prospered in every place he went to and was given authority over Egypt.
I urge you to remember that not only does God love you unconditionally, but He has incredible plans for your life on earth, from the time you are young, until you die! He even has plans for you while you are in Heaven. So do not feel that you have no purpose. Do not feel too old or too young to dream, after all, God gave you the dream in the first place! He gave you those gifts, talents and skills. He will certainly, therefore, give you the grace, the strength, the wisdom and the resources to cause those dreams to manifest.
Romans 11:29 For God’s gifts and His call can never be withdrawn.
Just imagine all that God can do through you if you choose to let Him. Chat with Him. Work together on the things that He has put in your heart and take some steps towards your dreams and goals today.
Philippians 3:13-16 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature [pursuing spiritual perfection] should have this attitude. And if in any respect you have a different attitude, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us stay true to what we have already attained.
