Think back to when you were a
child or talk to a child today and ask them what they want to be when they grow
up. You may hear a doctor, an actor, a football player, or many other
possibilities. Children dream big and they believe that they will achieve their
goals but as they grow up, many are told they may have to settle on something
else for their future. Some make it to that dream because they never let go of it.
Once we get to adulthood, I
think our ability to dream gets drowned out by the worry and stresses of everyday
life. How nice it would be if we could allow
ourselves to dream again and not talk ourselves out of that dream because we
think it is just not possible. It’s too late or I just don’t have the money, we
can come up with all kinds of reasons why something is unreachable.
God gave each of us an imagination
for a reason and He wants us to use it. In fact, our imagination is an important
part of our faith walk with God. Think about it, the definition of imagination
is the forming of mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to
the senses. I think that goes hand in hand with what it says in Hebrew 11:1 –
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen. It is difficult to maintain faith for something that you cannot see in
your imagination, in fact, I would go as far as to say that it is impossible.
There is a show on television where
you can watch people on their journey to buy a house. As they look at each
house, it is usually seen from two different perspectives. One would only see
what is in front of them and the other sees the potential of what that house
could be in the future. There is great power in our imaginations and they can
be a catalyst to move us into the life that God wants us to have.
God asked Abram to leave
everything and everyone that he knew and go to an unknown place, and God also told
Abram that He would make him a great nation. God greatly prospered Abram during
his journey but there were still no descendants. The
first time we see God giving Abram a mental picture of His promise is in
Genesis 13:14-17. God tells him that his descendants will be like the dust of
the earth meaning that Abram will have so many descendants that they cannot be
counted, and they will live in the land God was showing him. This visual was important because it sparked Abram’s
imagination, so he could have the mental image to meditate on. Some time had
passed and still no descendant and Abram brought his concerns to God. In
Genesis 15:1-6, God gave Abram another mental picture of His promise. This time
God showed Abram the stars and said his descendants will be so numerous that
you cannot count them, and Abram believed Him. Abram had to deal with the
outside influence of another who did not have the mental image that he had. Abram’s wife laid out her plan to have a child
and Abram listened and then he settled. I believe this postponed the promised
child for many years because Abram settled for something less than his dream. God
had to revive that dream and He did so by changing Abram’s name to Abraham in
Genesis 17:3-5. Abraham means “father of many”, so every time someone said his new
name, they were calling him a father of many. Now that is one way to keep a dream alive.
God has a plan for every one of our
lives and it is a good plan, Jeremiah 29:11.
We can give our imaginations over
to God and He will help us get our mental image. Once we get our mental image,
it is our job to keep a tight hold on it and not let outside influence corrupt
it. This will help keep our faith strong for the future.
Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us…
Dream Big!!!
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