Imagination

Imagination

MY QUESTION for GOD

How can I use my imagination to become a better leader?

A MOMENT with GOD

“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—all who seek the Lord! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined. Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.” The Lord will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.

Isaiah 51:1-3

Two disciplines that help you grow stronger in your faith are remembering the past and looking forward to the future with a “holy imagination.” God reminded his discouraged people that although Abraham and Sarah were old and infertile, God gave them a child, and from them came a great nation. Faith grows when you remember God’s great acts recorded in Scripture and throughout the ages (see Hebrews 11), and when you trust that God will continue to perform great acts for his people today and in the future. Cultivating a holy imagination means letting God’s promised hope of new and eternal life come alive in your mind, creating a vision of what God wants you to do. In the verses above, God promises to turn the deserts into lush land like the Garden of Eden. Not only will the barren places become fertile, but the curse of sin will be gone. God wanted the people to imagine what this new land would look like to give them a goal to work toward and a renewed vision and passion to get there. When you imagine a picture of what God is calling you to do, you will have a clearer goal of where he wants you to go and how to get there. If you can imagine what the final product will look like or what you want your team to accomplish, you will develop a better vision of what God wants to do through you. Imagination is necessary for vision. Ultimately, God wants you to imagine a life without the curse of sin and have faith that you will reach that life. Then your relationship with him will grow stronger.

DIVINE PROMISE

THAT IS WHAT THE SCRIPTURES MEAN WHEN THEY SAY, “NO EYE HAS SEEN, NO EAR HAS HEARD, AND NO MIND HAS IMAGINED WHAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”   1 Corinthians 2:9