When I close my eyes, I imagine a knife slicing through my abdomen. Doctors and nurses surrounded me and fear permeated my entire being. The unknowns of this scene flood my mind with questions. Would something go wrong? Would the anesthesia fail to work like one of my friends had experienced? Would I suddenly freak out and have to be sedated? Would the baby be OK? Would the doctor make a mistake?
I quickly open my eyes and bring myself back to reality. I am still sitting on the couch. The sound of kids playing echos in the background. I gaze outside, watching the wind softly blow the leaves on the trees. I suddenly receive a violent kick on my right side, reminding me that the baby is still in my womb.
The idea of a Caesarean section has always one of “those things” that brings me immediate trepidation. Like a spider to a person with arachnophobia. Or being trapped in a closet to a person with claustrophobia. There is a measure of irrationality to the fear, but logic doesn’t seem to bring much comfort. For me, there is a real chance that I could be facing a C-section in a matter of weeks, but the imagined anticipation of this event is not something I want to be replaying in my mind.
The Word of God has much to say about the activity of the mind, whether it be thoughts, imaginations, or meditation.
“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” ~Romans 8:6
Imagination is a wonderful gift from God. But it can also bring destruction. Our imaginations need to be redeemed, sanctified. We need to discipline our imaginations. We need to cultivate habits that bring life and peace to our minds. The imagination is a kind of bridge between the heart and mind. Our hearts are the emotion seat of our being and our minds create images and thoughts. Together, these create imaginations that can produce life or death. We can have worldly imaginations or God-centered imaginations. One is governed by the flesh, the other is wholly surrendered to the Spirit of God.
“Blessed is the man…who delights in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” ~Psalm 1:1-3
Biblical meditation is a practice that can develop wonderful imaginations. Vividly imagining what a scripture passage is describing brings the Word to life. It turns words on a page into an experience that touches not only the intellect but the heart and soul as well.
Meditation is nothing more than thinking about something enough until you experience it as real. We all meditate. It’s just a matter of whether we are doing it intentionally or by default. Unfortunately, a lot of default meditation is negative, destructive, and even sinful. One way to meditate with intention is to imagine the promises of God being experienced in our own lives. We take a promise of God and imagine ourselves living it out in reality. Not just some vague possibility in the future, but experiential anticipation that creates hope-filled emotions and a peace-filled mind.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” ~Isaiah 26:3
The Hebrew word for mind here actually means to form, shape, or imagine. How do we keep our imaginations fixed on God? Only by the Spirit, and the continual renewal of our minds. Paul provides a list of attributes that should describe what we are entertaining in our minds. If it is not true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or praiseworthy then we ought to cast it out of our minds (Philippians 4:8). God promises peace, but it is conditional on the discipline of keeping a godly mindset.
What kind of imaginations do you entertain? Are they dreaded what-if’s or are they hopeful anticipations of God’s promises to us? Whether it be a thought, picture, or full scene, each of us has the control to stop or encourage such activity in our minds. Let us pray with the psalmist,
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Amen and amen!
This is TRUTH!! Thank you for this and I feel we just sat down and talked. Miss you already friend.
Oh, how I miss you too! Love you!