MIND WARS: IMAGINATION

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; II Corinthians 10:5 

REFERENCE
II Corinthians 10:3-5

Have you ever sat down and seen horrific images flash through your mind that caused you to shudder in fear as if what you saw was actually happening in real time? A lot of us can relate with this, and that is because as humans, we think in pictures. Even when people narrate things to us in words, we form pictures of what they are saying, e.g. when we hear about a white cat, we paint the picture of a white cat in our minds. That’s why I like to call the mind, ‘Image Nation.’

The ability to form pictures or images in our minds of things we have not seen or experienced is known as ‘imagination.’ It is the part of the mind that imagines or that ‘images’. The imagination is another dimension of the mind that the devil manipulates to oppress people because he knows we are stimulated by images. That is why advertisers bombard us with the same information over and over until it forms a picture in our minds; until we respond favorably to what they are selling.

It is said that “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Pictures/images stay longer in our minds than words, which could explain why people prefer watching television to listening to the radio. Instagram a relatively new social media platform has more users than older platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn because it speaks in pictures, and thus connects more with people.

When we talk about our imagination, it can either be negative or positive. If we use our imagination to create images in our minds that we see in the Word of God, we are operating in faith; because ‘faith is the ‘evidence’ of things not seen but believed, and that is a great way to use our imagination. The same is true of fear. Fear is the evidence of things not seen but believed. The word ‘evidence’ has it’s root in the Latin word, ‘videre,’ which means ‘see.’ So, if we use our imagination to create images of fear, indecency or things that corrupt our minds, it will have a negative impact on us. The power of imagination made Jesus say that a man who ‘imagines’ himself in an act of sexual sin will be guilty, as though he actually did it.

To win the mind war of ‘images,’ you must learn to protect your mind by choosing the images that you allow into your mind through your ears and especially your eye gate. Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, you must tend the garden of your mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivate the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts.

Use the weapon of ‘meditation’ to cast down negative imaginations that satan aims against your mind. When you meditate (that is, ponder a matter over and over in the Word) you dethrone negative images and enthrone that which is good and acceptable in the sight of God. The Psalmist prayed: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD…” he must have understood the power of meditating on the right things. (Psalms 19:14)

You have the power to completely erase whatever negativity has been painted on the canvas of your mind today with the Word of God. If it stays long enough as a picture in your mind, it will eventually be a feature in your life. So, stay alert!

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL STUDY
Genesis 30:25-43, Joshua 1:8 & Romans 12:2

TO DO

Reflect on the weeds that are in the garden of your heart, and consciously cast them down with the weapon of the Word.

Meditate on the kinds of fruits you want to harvest from the garden of you mind and commit to planting and watering them from hereon.