Imagination is simply the ability to think of something
that is not there. It can be a truthful imagination in the sense that it could
actually exist or happen, such picturing in my mind how my walls would look in
a different color. It can also be fictional imagination, such as elves cooking
my supper.
God wants me to set my imagination on Him. This is not
easy. He is a Spirit so cannot be seen or even described, but He does give me
the ability to sense His presence. He also revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, so
by the New Testament narratives, I can imagine a man who heals the sick, raises
the dead, and loves me unconditionally, although this latter one is difficult at
times.
He also wants me to imagine what He has done and can do.
Looking at creation helps me do that. Focusing on answers to prayer or the
changed lives of other Christians is also helpful, even though the main source
for my imaginative thoughts is the Word of God where I can read about what He
has done and has promised. Yet there is far more to God than what has been
recorded even in the Bible. This verse of benediction hints it:
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think (imagine), according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20–21)
God is able to do more than I can ask or imagine. No one
can second-guessed Him or know for certain what He is going to do, even in
answer to prayer. He is full of surprises. He says His thoughts are beyond my
thoughts. At the same time, He tells me to have a mind that is changed, that
leans toward His thoughts, His will, His ideas.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
In renewing my mind, I must turn from the old stuff. That
is, whatever held my imagination before I became a Christian has to be put off,
discarded, and rejected. I’ve been given a new way to think, even given the
mind of Christ (1 Corinthians
2:16). For this reason, God tells me to abandon the thoughts of
those who do not know Him and whose minds cannot grasp the life of God because
their hearts are hard. Their thoughts are “sensual, greedy . . . and impure.”
He tells me that is not the way that I learned Christ —
assuming that I have heard about Him and have been taught in him. As the truth
is in Jesus, I am to put off my old self which belongs to my former manner of
life which is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit
of my mind, putting on the new self which has been created after the likeness
of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:20–24)
I am to set my mind on things that are above, not on
things that are on earth. He says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden
with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will
appear with him in glory.” (Colossians
3:2–4)
Another helpful way to keep my imagination where it should
be is to trust God instead of anything else, including my ideas and imagination.
Trust is key to being at peace . . .
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
An added thought from Chambers is that an imagination that
is not fixed on God in trust will produce exhaustion. Of course, hard work will
do the same, but waiting on God renews my strength and overcomes fatigue and
weakness, another good reason to “bring every thought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ.”
A rich and godly imagination will not only keep me filled
with spiritual energy, but also deepens my affection for God and keeps my heart
settled in perfect peace.