Get A Picture
Imagine. Dream. Imagination and daydreaming are concepts we often connect to children and discard as adults. In doing so, we may miss important opportunities. The imaginative mind is the Holy Spirit’s territory, and dismissing imagination restricts the Holy Spirit. Worse yet is willingly allowing fear and other evil spirits to invade or direct the imaginative powers.
Your imagination is a God-given tool that is all too often shanghaied by Satan and used against you. Think about the images that go through your mind when the doctor says ‘cancer’. That is exactly what I mean. We hear words and our imaginative mind creates an image – often based in fear instead of God’s promises. This is an extremely powerful tool and Satan knows it. Man’s imagination was not intended to be used against us; it was meant to give humans a winning advantage.
Our mental images impact the outcome of situations we encounter every day. God used the starry sky to give Abraham a picture of the vast number of his descendants.1 To multiply his finances, Jacob created mental pictures for himself using sticks, and super-naturally his business increased —in spite of the fact that sticks at a watering trough should have absolutely no effect on the DNA of breeding sheep.2 The images in the minds of men altered the natural outcome. What images do we allow our minds to dwell and meditate on?
Think of the people in Numbers 13 who saw themselves as grasshoppers—even though they had a direct word from God.3 They willingly allowed fear to direct their mental imagery; they meditated on the negative images, seeing themselves as bugs trampled easily by their opponents. Compare that to Jonathan and his weaponless armor-bearer in 1 Samuel 14 who went boldly into the Philistines camp, killed twenty enemy soldiers and chased off the rest! Jonathan had an image of the Philistines calling him up to their camp and God giving him victory.4 David shared his mental image of him cutting off the Philistine giant’s head and birds and wild animals eating the fallen bodies of the Philistine army.5 The woman with the issue of blood spoke repeatedly of the picture she saw: healing coming into her body the moment she touched Jesus’ robe.6 Her image inspired others to take their healing by using the same picture for themselves.7 Our mental images and the words that come out of our mouth are innately connected; we must make sure both are in agreement with what God has said about us.
Sometimes even a thousand words aren’t half as good as a picture. God uses pictures to help us align our vision with His vision. On Mount Sinai, God showed Moses pictures and a detailed pattern, instructing Moses to carefully refer back to the imagery he had been shown.8 Many of God’s prophetic warnings and messages are filled with unusual images that secular and religious alike find fascinating: multi-headed beasts, green horses, golden images etc. Imagery captures our mind like few other things can.
The verses in Joel 2 that Peter quoted at Pentecost say “people will dream dreams” and “people will see visions.”9 We often view this verse as referring to strictly spiritual dreams and spiritual visions, in essence repeating the previous line about prophesy. But the original text does not differentiate between ordinary dreams and prophetic dreams and is conveying a broader concept. In fact, the verb translated as ‘dream’ in Joel 2:28 also means to be healthy, be strong, to restore health. This is in complete agreement with one of the most obvious works of the Holy Spirit outpouring evident in Jesus and the early church – restoring health.
Put dreams and imaginations in their proper place and cast “down imaginations and every arrogant obstacle” and make your “every thought captive” to agree with Jesus’ new covenant of “life and that more abundant”.10 Do you need health restored? Get an image of yourself well, whole, healthy, doing an activity you can only do in health. Do you need a financial increase? Do what Jacob did – create a picture and put it where you will see it frequently. Let your imagination picture God’s promises fulfilled: witty inventions, secret treasures, wisdom and revelation, salvation for children, God’s goodness toward you, success and victory over difficulties.11 Dream big. Use your imagination. Get a picture. God said of the ungodly men building the tower of Babel that nothing they imagined would be impossible for them. How much more so for the son or daughter of God under the covenant promises! So be childlike and plant God’s promises in the fertile soil of your imagination under the cultivation of the Holy Spirit and picture your best harvest ever.
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“Jacob took fresh-cut branches . . . and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark . . . . Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. . . . And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.”
• • • Genesis 30:37-39• • •
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1. Genesis 15:5
2. Genesis 30:37-39
3. Numbers 13:33
4. 1 Samuel 14:10-15
5. 1 Samuel 17:46
6. Matthew 9:20-21
7. Matthew 14:36; Mark 6:56
8. Exodus 25:40, 26:30
9. Joel 2:28; Acts2:17
10. 2 Corinthians 10:5, John 10:10
11. Proverbs 8:12; Isaiah 45:3; James 1:5, Deuteronomy 29:29; Isaiah 49:25; Jeremiah 32:40; Deuteronomy 28:8, Romans 8:37
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“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
• • • Proverbs 29:18• • •
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