Laura's Latest: Change What You see

Imagination. What a powerful thing!

We spend years using it to play, grow, learn and achieve and then we get told we need to stop imagining and get practical. We have a tendency to stop imagining our dreams, goals and hopes for the future and waste our thoughts on worry and negative things.

If I have learnt anything since knowing Jesus, it’s that you have to change what you see in your mind to see it change physically in your life. I spent years and years imagining every possible awful scenario, over and over to the point that I would steer clear of situations completely to avoid fear and disappointment. As a result I experienced depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, insecurity, confusion, bitterness and anger.

If you constantly imagine failing, you can bet you have a fat chance of losing because you end up saying what you see in your mind and words have power.

If you keep saying, "I’ll never get better", "I’ll never lose weight", "I’ll never quit smoking", your actions will follow your words and you will get what you say. This is not karma. Karma does not exist. I hear so many people saying, “I hope karma comes back around and sorts that person out.” Mate! I know that at some point in your life you have done something wrong or hurt someone, so praise God there is no such thing. We have, however, ALL fallen short of The Glory of God. We have all sinned. If you sow seeds for strawberries you will harvest strawberries, not oranges! If you sow seeds of bitterness, anger, un-forgiveness and adultery then you will get a harvest of strife and destruction. That is not karma, it’s consequence.

Wrong thinking leads to wrong doing and then you experience the consequences of poor actions. I’m not saying this to condemn anyone. I have learnt this first hand and still make mistakes. I'm simply saying we cannot keep blaming other things such as the weather, the world, family, friends, God or the devil for our lives. We have a choice in everything we do and how we are going to respond to situations and people.

The Good News is that Jesus paid the price for every single one of us! He paid the price for our sin and sickness and through Him we have redemption; freedom; a fresh start. God wants and plans the best things for you, better than you could even imagine. The devil, however, wants the worst for you, to steal, kill and destroy you, but he has no authority to physically do anything to you. What he does do though, is plant seeds in your mind that will sprout into worry, anxiety and evil thoughts if you allow them to remain and dwell upon them.

It’s crazy to think of all that time that we can spend worrying about things that will never even happen. It is a waste of time and the enemy does this to distract those with a great, God-given imagination from the big ideas God gives.

The Bible explains in Proverbs 23:7, "as a man is in his heart, so is he." This simply means, if you see yourself in your mind as a victim, you will act like it. If you see yourself as successful, you will act like it. Think of the amount of actors that have had to imagine their part as someone evil, possessed or disturbed. Now think of the amount of them that have acted the part and got so into it that they sadly end up committing suicide or becoming that disturbed, destructive person.

Your imagination is powerful! It was created by God for good, to help you and others and to fulfil God’s plan for your life. All we have to do is learn to control it.

The first step to changing your imagination is accepting Jesus into your life. Living life with Jesus gives you the power to do everything you will ever need to do. It’s a done deal. We just have to agree to do it and DO it. It sounds simple because it is. We just complicate it. We take wrong turns, skip steps and jump trains but God never leaves us or forsakes us as and if you let Him, He will always get you where you need to be. So get yourself born again and that's step 1 completed. You can do so by saying out loud and believing in your heart this simple prayer:

"Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Savior. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now and let you into my life. Thank You for saving me!. Amen"

Woohoo! Now you are born again! A new creation. Simples. The next thing to do is to get into The Word of God and get some wisdom. I have to do this daily! I can get distracted as we all can and we need the loving instruction that comes from God's Word. Finding a Bible-believing Church is important for learning, growing, serving, fellowship and it will support you as you walk with God.

One of my favourite things to do when I am distracted and my focus is on things that are temporal is what Jesus said to do in 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.”

I also love it in The Message version:

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realised. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies”

In the most practical way, I write these things down and spend time getting my mind focused.

So get your notebook out and your pen, get your pencils out or your paint, do whatever you have to do to focus your mind on these things. I like to break them down and really look at what those words mean to me.

What is true?

(Synonyms)

Accurate, correct, verifiable, faithful

What is noble?

(Synonyms)

Righteous, worthy, good, honest

What is right?

(Synonyms)

Just, fair, upright

What is pure?

(Synonyms)

Ethical, clean, solid

What is lovely?

(Synonyms)

Beautiful, adorable, charming

What is admirable?

(Synonyms)

Commendable, exceptional, respectable

What is excellent?

(Synonyms)

Wonderful, outstanding, magnificent

What is praiseworthy?

(Synonyms)

Applaudable, creditable, worthy of admiration

On paper for me, all of those answers point to Jesus (and pugs, haha!). But when you really start dwelling on those things, the people in your life that love you; the times that God has rescued you; memories of others that mean the world to you; positive hopes for the future, all of those things transform your mind, your mood and consequently the way that you respond to life.

This is near and dear to my heart following 24 years of stinking thinking. I pray that you come to know The Truth that comes from God's Word. I can say with great confidence that you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind"

You are so loved, brothers and sisters. Jesus has His arms wide open ready to meet you wherever you are at. No matter how deep the pit is that you are in, He is ready and able to carry you out. He will never let you down, never leave you or forsake you. You just have to let Him in.