“All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations.” — Isaiah 65:2 (NIV)
Now, here is a verse that describes the problem of our age. We pursue our own imaginations into ways that are not good and that put us into an obstinate relationship with God. Let’s talk about our imagination for a moment. Have you ever considered why it is that you have the ability to imagine? Isn’t it interesting that we as human beings are uniquely different from animals because we can imagine and dream outside ourselves and actually act upon those thoughts? Animals act instinctively to their environment. My dog Max may dream of something when he is asleep, but once he is awake he lives an instinctive existence. But not me and not you. We can actually distort reality by our imaginations. Human thought is a double-edged sword. By it we gain the deepest philosophical understandings of ourselves and the world we live in, and at the same time, can create the most hostile world to live in.
You see, we are created in the image of God. We have the ability to create and to dream. Sin has affected our ability to make sure that our imagination is captive to the will of God. Often our imagination wanders into territory where it does not belong. God does not want us to cease using our God-given imagination. He wants us, by the power of His word and the Holy Spirit that works within us, to put boundaries and controls upon our imagination. Simply put, He wants us to use our God-given imagination in the realm of His will. We need to use our imagination according to His will and not our own.
Today, don’t repent or regret that you have a mind and an imagination. Repent, if necessary, that you have chosen to use it in the realm of your will rather than God’s. Then, get up from that repentant state and begin to imagine wonderful and creative things that can be done within God’s will and according to His plan for your life.
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.church