Imagination’s Unhelpful Side
Creatives have incredibly robust imaginations. It’s a gift to see what could be before it is. To bring ideas to life through works of beauty and heart.
But there’s an unhelpful side to highly active imaginations that can work against us. We see it most in a tense or uncertain situation—like when a loved one is late getting home, an unknown person knocks on the door, or we start to think nothing we create matters. In those moments, our minds race through a myriad of highly unlikely, worst-case scenarios that suddenly seem certain.
That may keep the pages turning in a suspense novel, but it’s an exhausting way to live and create.
Thankfully, you can minimize this unhelpful side of your imagination.
Be proactive on what you allow into your mind. Avoid fear-based news, violent entertainment, and polarizing social media.
Regularly consecrate your entire imagination to God. Rather than conform to the thought patterns of the culture, ask God to transform you by renewing your mind (Romans 12:2).
Tell your thoughts where to go rather than giving them free reign to take you places. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV)
Pursue a healed and redeemed imagination. You’ll be amazed how it leads to greater creativity…and a life of greater peace and wonder with God.
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. (Philippians 4:8 MSG)
This reading was crafted to encourage your pursuit of story and creativity with God. Your donation makes this crowd-funded initiative possible. You can support it via PAYPAL (or by check to Allen Arnold at PO Box 62841, Colorado Springs, CO 80962).
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