Imagine…..

I had never thought myself much of a dreamer. Growing up, I was not encouraged to read…it just wasn’t a thing in our upbringing and being No5 in the household didn’t give me much authority in determining the rules of play. I was a follower, not versed in the world of imagination.

Home schooling our kids opened a whole new world for me! I used to be in awe of my children, watching them play and listening to their plans, plotting and scheming elaborate games, character development, creating costumes from a box of old wigs, scraps of fabric and discarded clothes.  A stick found on a walk became a light sabre, a sword, a gun, a baton, a javelin, a wand….my kitchen cupboards a veritable warehouse of props, some old rope from the garden shed, my peg bag and my bedsheets strung across their bedroom from bedhead to bedhead, the curtains of their stage. As I engaged in the processes of play and had to stretch my mind to develop interesting and engaging ways to deliver a school curriculum with no previous training and little in the way of guidelines, my capacity to imagine…to unleash an element of creativity I did not realise I possessed, was reborn.

Storytelling, reading, live theatre and radio shows used to spark the imaginations of children and adults alike. In reading novels, the author would transport reader to other worlds, scenes and scenarios. Watching home movies and looking through photo albums together, captured the imagination, reliving childhood adventures and holidays, often with greatly embellished tales of events and experiences. Things that captured one’s imagination were unique and illuminated the creative thought processes of each individual.

Listening to a sermon just yesterday by Michael Todd, called “Unlocking an Anointed Imagination? What are You Imagining?”, it was suggested that many of us lose our ability to imagine. He asks the question: “at what point did your imagination quit? When did adulting choke out your ability to see where imagination could take you?”

I wondered then whether technology and its constancy in our day to day lives with screen time on tablets, Xboxes and TV, we and the generations that follow, have our imaginations stifled as video clips, programmed games and access to social media and online streaming bombard our brains.

Yet, while writing it occurs to me that imagination is written into our DNA. There is a tendency to lay claim to being either right or left brain focused, with right brain activities leaning towards creativity eg painters, actors, filmmakers, artists, writers; and left brain towards reason, intellect eg design, architecture, engineers. Where it was once believed imagination was birthed in the visual cortex of the brain, the part that processes imagery, it has been found to be a neural network involving many parts of the brain. This scientifically discounts the idea of right and left brained tendencies.

So, what we would ordinarily claim to be creative tendencies for one, I would boldly suggest that few are devoid of the ability to imagine and therefore create from that place.

Scientific research into the realm of imagination discovered that while there is a strong scientific basis for imagination, giving us the ability to use this faculty to live beyond the past and the present, it is little understood. Imagination, as explained by Dr Daniel Gilbert, Edgar Pearce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, is our window to the future. This is unique to humans and “has positive and negative outcomes”. His interesting take is that people rationalise their future thoughts/ imagination concerning a particular situation or event, based on past experience and present inputs. This impacts that outcome and creates a lack of resilience to bounce back if something does not turn out according to imagined outcome. and causes” difficulty envisioning a successful and joyful result”. In effect, imagination may well frighten the fearful, particularly if they are unable to rationalise it or have taken the risk and dared to dream and been disappointed by failure.

I have heard said that every manmade thing was first birthed in someone’s imagination.

 To imagine a bridge spanning a deep gorge, a community of homes lit by electric lightbulbs, a telescope that penetrates deep space that gives us a window into the heavens…all are spurred on by something much deeper. Creative spark, I would propose, is more than an intellectual process. It is propelled by emotion…a desire to succeed, to know, to experience, to open new worlds of knowledge, to inspire and motivate…to feel the heart of God and be in touch with that God-inspired DNA He created within us…that urge to create and imagine possibility. That is risky. Admittedly, some of us may need some encouragement to unearth the gift buried under doctrine that says imagination is “New Age-y” or have found through events and experiences of our pasts that the art has been misplaced or discarded. The good news is it was never lost.

I found myself, believing I am one of the “buried gift” crew, pondering on the Bible verse…

Ephesians 1 :17, that” asks for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so we might know Christ better and then verse 18 says, “open the eyes of my imagination” (or “Heart” in most translations). In my asking God for my eyes to be opened and wondering just what Revelation 3:18 means when it says to purchase salve to put on our eyes so that we can “see” …just what am I supposed to be seeing?

Where do I turn to for inspiration and how do I awaken the art of imagining?

It was spoken of in the sermon I heard that Genesis talks of imagination…from the very beginning.

So, like reading a novel, or seeing the opening of a movie or play, the scene is set…

Genesis 1…All is dark, the earth formless and empty.

The Spirit of God is hovering over the surface of the deep…. And God said…” Let there be Light” and there was light.

 In one verse in the opening chapter of the first book of the Bible, we are being invited to view God’s creativity from the place of our imagination. He then follows up, laying it all out before us, one day at a time. He separates the light from darkness. He calls the vault above sky and water below. ….and there was evening and morning…another day. Our imagination is a tool for ‘seeing’ and engaging in this creative process. That there is “space” between each step is an indication of an allowance for time to dream…to imagine all that is possible, and then some…maybe even to what may seem impossible.

I can now imagine God, in the in between, pondering His next extraordinary move in the creative process, discussing together with Jesus and Spirit. Simple by description in the writing but as David writes in the Psalms 92:5,

“Depths of purpose and layers of meaning saturate everything He does”.

Then imagination really takes centre stage in the creation of plants and seed…their colour, variety and purpose, every detail spoken and delivered. Animals… majestic, mammoth, minute and their very existence and design woven in interrelation with plants for their food, for shelter, for pollination….to name just a few. Then there’s the flap-book varieties where God really let His creativity go wild. I can almost hear the round table laughter at the thought of some of His creations! Psalm 104:24 “O Lord, what an amazing variety of all You have created! Wild and wonderful is this world You have made…”

Then comes man…the ultimate…the crowning glory of creation…. made in God’s image and likeness. Just soak that in for a moment. That God, having created planets, galaxies, and all our created world… spoken into existence with no working template… purely from thought and spoken word, determined to create man/woman…in His likeness and image.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion… Genesis1:26. ” …the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

The root word for imagination is IMAGE. At this point Id like to present the dictionary definition for imagination…” The faculty or action of forming new ideas, concepts or images of external objects not present to the senses”: “the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful”.

The culmination of that idea is in the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9.

A people of one language proposed together by imagining, to build, using bricks and mortar, a city and tower to reach the heavens. God, seeing what they are in one mind able to imagine, confuses their language so they are unable to communicate, and their objective becomes impossible to achieve. Why? God says, “If they have begun to do this then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them!” Wow! Does that cement the image and likeness of God?

Why then the constraint? Because their plan discounted relationship and dependence on God, with the recognition and acceptance of our place, purpose, and potential working in union with Him. Remember, God, Spirit and Jesus were working together in creation. Man was created for relationship with God.

So, by way of illustration, my suggestion and “Revelation” today, that I share with you…not as any expert, is that the Bible, rather than a book of history or Messianic law, or just a collection of metaphors and stories…is a manual for our imagination!

In its pages, in the telling of all the above and the use of language, is the stuff of inspiration. It becomes the means by which we hear God’s voice. He shares His heart, His desire for us. He uses people, ordinary people like you and me, to establish His plans for mankind. His desire through people, through drama and wars and everyday events of life is to weave the creative gospel of Jesus, Gods imagination and plan for our relationship through our creativity. Our day-to-day problems require an openness to providing God-inspired, Spirit-led creative solutions.

Jesus, in His ministry, as written in the New Testament, chooses parables…. stories of everyday, common events to enliven the imaginations of the people He was speaking to so that they could immerse themselves into the story via their imagination, giving the story meaning and life with real time application. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says we must become like children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes. Leave the adult at the gate. Shake off adulthood with all its responsibility and reason, logic and labouring, & cynicism and come to Him with childlike faith.

A child sees potential in every object and is not constrained by its actual function. Things don’t need to make perfect sense and details do not factor into their schemes. Nor are they obsessed with what everyone else thinks.

I recall as I write, the scene from Hook, with Robin Williams when sitting to eat at the table with the lost boys. The boys are clearly enjoying their feast but Peter Pan (Robin Williams) has grown up and become an adult, so his imagination had been overrun by the responsibilities of adulthood. With encouragement from the boys around him, he begins to let go of the conservatism that hinders his creative thoughts and as he begins to allow himself to imagine again as the child he once was and as the boys do, suddenly the table is covered in food, and he indulges in the feast and festivities.

My encouragement to you then…and to myself….is to read the Bible with renewed thinking, embracing it as a manual of our awakening, igniting, or illuminating the “eyes of our imagination”. The Psalms are always a good place to start. David’s poetry and imagery testament to the young shepherd’s creative imagination of God in all His goodness and glory.

For example, his words in Psalm 139:13, David writes, “You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. I thank you God for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvellously breathtaking…. carefully, skilfully you shaped me from nothing to something…”.

We are limited only by the limits of our imagination, but God’s desire is that we respond to him by asking for His inspiration and anointing (approval). Often, our ideas and solutions come to us through others, random events, inspired conversations, sixth sense moments, and unscheduled opportunities sometimes against every logical and reasonable explanation. We are told in Isaiah 55: 8-9 that “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways”.

Yet in God’s hands, as we give Him that dream in prayer, His blessing will see that come to fruition in ways you could never have seen or imagined. God knows no ceiling!

We do need to be discerning though. Sometimes we discount what we imagine as a possibility…we see others prosper, receive their healing, revel in their blessings, but don’t believe it is for us because intellectually, it doesn’t make sense, or we can’t fathom it by our reasoning…it couldn’t be possible…there must be another explanation …even asking what am I doing wrong when I haven’t progressed yet. We can forget or haven’t been told that God has promises that we can ask and believe for, or , we get caught up in what everyone else is saying or doing.

What we feed our minds and spirits is vital to what we see in our imaginations. If we allow fear, mistrust & doubt to cloud over our dreaming it can cause us to negate all that could be.

The Bible says, in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “Casting down imaginations and every high thing that holds itself above the knowledge of God, taking it captive and bringing it under the obedience of Christ”.

 Every dream, thought, idea, needs to be brought to God and put in His hands. He will take it and bless what He will use, opening doors of opportunity and advancement…or closing a door on something that would not be a blessing to yourself or to others. His will is paramount, and nothing will proceed without His approval. But on the uptake of the dream will come outcomes, ways and means you could not have calculated or imagined. (Inspiration from Priscilla Shirer sermon)

Ephesians 3 :20 is one of my favourite verses. “And now” …when? Now!! “He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination. He will outdo them all!”

Can I encourage you then, to pull out a pen and paper and list all those long-held, shelved dreams and imaginings…those you have put aside believing they would or could never happen; those others told you were foolish and unachievable; those that sparked a childlike longing in you years ago, and reintroduce them to your heart and mind, maybe rework them a little and take them to God for approval. Give them over and see what happens. You could well be surprised…at the very least…blessed or create a means of blessing others.

Amen!!

1. Unlocking An Anointed Imagination// What are you Imagining// Crazyer Faith// Michael Todd…. Transformation Church      YouTube 08102021
2. You’re right where you need to be…God is Preparing you for More” …Praise on TBN

3. Youtube 11/10/2021 #tbn #priscillashirer#lakewood

4. Youtube 19/10/2021 “The Science Behind Imagination”  Dr Daniel Gilbert, Edgar Pearce Professor of Psychology, Harvard University  (well worth listening!)

Another thing that came to me, particularly in the realm of healing, is to go through the gospels and take the verses telling of Jesus’ healing ministry. In the reading of each healing event, imagine yourself as the person standing before Jesus. Look into His face, see the kindness and compassion for you in His eyes and feel the love He has for you. Receive the healing as He speaks it to you.

The gospels clearly state that everyone who came to Jesus for healing was healed.

• https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com  “ Jesus Healed Them All”  (pdf) 127KB  7 pages
• Photo: Ben Roorda Ruby Productions…photographer not known
• Other Photos: Naomi Roorda