Groundwork
In 1988 I was a twelve-year-old girl living in Pontotoc, Mississippi. Unusual would best describe me. Home schooled with my two siblings, I had time on my hands. Sometimes, nothing but time. I read A.W. Tozer, C.S. Lewis, Oswald Chambers, Elisabeth Elliot, stacks of missionary biographies, Bible Handbooks, Concordances, the Bible, the encyclopedia, thesaurus, and dictionary. I was fascinated by the written word. More importantly I was compelled by God’s word. I also spent hours day dreaming.
Not only did I day-dream I asked questions of God. I wondered about the meaning of life and what eternity is like and how God could know billions of people intimately in a single moment. My mind never stopped.
The day I was reading through Romans, chapter 10 stands out vividly to me. “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” The plea leapt off the pages of my Bible. “Me, send me.” My heart thumped fast! My imagination was captured. It’s been being captured for thirty years. And my heart still says “send me,” every time I hear those verses.
Does God have a use for dreamers?
I’ve always been a dreamer. Recently a friend described me as passionate and a little dreamy. I didn’t know exactly how I felt about that. But I pressed in and asked God, “can a dreamer be useful?” He drew my mind to Joseph. A dreamer if there ever was one, literally. You can read his story in Genesis 37.
What if God isn’t put off by dreamers, what if he has a purpose for them. Can dreaming be a gifting? An expression of faith? My dreams at the moment:
- I dream of a healthy, thriving, loving, reproducing church.
- I dream of becoming a published author, spinning what if dreams. What if we really can walk by faith and turn every dark valley into an altar of praise, and live in unity inspired by the Holy Spirit, and serve the weak and broken with joy?
- I dream of taking the message of hope to Eastern Europe. Since I was fourteen my mind and heart have been captivated by a region needing to know the heart of the Father is open to them. I’ve been dreaming the dream of Eastern Europe for almost thirty years.
- I dream of orphan and disability care. What could happen if some of us just showed up to volunteer and serve? During a visit to a Serbian mental institution I asked about their volunteers, I was met with blank stares. The concept was unheard of. All the more reason to question why I was there. My response – I believe Jesus loves all people, especially the weak, and I want to love them too. So many questions and opportunities were birthed by just showing up.
- I dream of a dog. Simple yes, but true. A therapy dog, one that comforts, builds bridges, and opens conversational doors.
I’m learning to believe God gives us his dreams to dream and sanctifies our imagination. Imaginations aren’t fluffy, silly, worthless things. Imaginations have power. According to dictionary.com to imagine means to “form a mental image of something not present.” It’s derived from Latin imaginare – “form an image of, represent.”
We can use our imagination to form a picture of what God has promised in his word, but we haven’t yet received. We can imagine our eternal destiny, even though we don’t see clearly where we’re going. We can imagine character developed in ourselves and others, even though it’s still a work in progress. Certainly we can use our imaginations to delude or serve ourselves, we can harm others and waste time. Which is true of anything not brought under God’s authority.
Dare to dream
What if God is calling out a generation of dreamers? People who imagine what could be. Who dream about what it looks like to love sacrificially, to live in God’s kingdom come, to heal with our words and love with our hands, to imagine what a person is becoming and not just what they have been. Life is hard, reality sometimes stinks. Imagining good is a worthwhile endeavor.
Where do you need to apply sanctified imagination? Is there a situation in which you need to see with God’s eyes and ask for creativity to participate with him in working out his purposes? The application of a sanctified imagination stretches across every sphere of our influence – parenting, work, character development, church life, Bible reading, art, understanding eternity, advocacy, outreach, faith.
A lot of times people, like myself, who are natural dreamers struggle with follow through. I’ve been dreaming my whole life. My enneagram number is a 4, a romantic. In the process of developing a sanctified imagination I’m finding that some dreams stick. Some dreams are worth the muscle they require to push through and create a reality.
Where do you need to line your imagination up with God’s purposes? How can you re-imagine a circumstance or relationship? God can captivate not only our hearts, but our imaginations. If you find yourself stuck or fed up this week I encourage you to ask God to help you re-imagine things.
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” Hebrews 11:1-3
Becoming a Woman of Influence 