Passive Imagination
My brothers, fellow warriors, beware of your passive imagination.
Our Mighty Warrior has recently shed light upon a very serious, self-destructing, old-man habit of mine. Passive imagination. Let’s break this down more for specific understanding.
Imagination
First, let’s consider our “imagination.” God gave us an imagination. Imagination is not a bad thing. However, like all things in our soul, our imagination has total opportunity to be corrupted by the world, our fallen sin nature (old man) and of course the enemy.
God’s original intent with our imagination was for Him so that we could imagine His:
Purpose and intent
Glory
Power
Overcoming and victory
Peace and joy
Beauty
Presence
Righteousness
And all other things Him
The list goes on indefinitely, because God is infinite. We cannot comprehend the glory and fruits of God, it’s all-surpassing, beyond understanding. But that’s exactly “why” He gave us our imagination. To imagine Him and everything about Him and the full reality that everything He is - IS IN US! Hallelujah! What glory and power and honor and victory! Now that’s being a warrior to our Mighty Warrior! Trumpet call now!!!
But, our imagination has been corrupted. Think about it. Since we were young men, we’ve imagined so many things. As kids, we imagined playing outside, getting toys and becoming professional athletes. As teens, we imagined women (sex), being cool (drugs and alcohol), becoming rich and powerful, famous and independent from our parents. In college, we continue on with our teenage thinking and exploit everything we can by infusing in our mind pornography, movies, TV shows, social media, parties and whatever else we dream. As adults, we are so puffed up with imaginations of this world it becomes our daily reality.
At some point, when it pleases God to reveal His Son in us, light shines in our spirit and we are recovered with our new sense of touching our Father. Whatever the circumstances or reasons behind this glorious salvation, we are invigorated with life and we begin to “imagine” a life of glory, feeling this same feeling every second for the rest of our life.
Then reality sets back in. Our old-man, the one with all these imaginations from childhood, continues on, but now trying to imagine God. Understand this immediately, God gave you His new life through salvation, however, we most likely did not experience and consider the full death of our old man on the cross. In a lot of circumstances in my life, I have all of God’s life in me, but I need a better death in my old man. I’m only saying this because if you “feel” like your new life in God is not working and you are thinking it didn’t really work, check yourself before you wreck yourself any further. You most likely need a better death!
Anyways, your old man continues imagining all the things you always have imagined. A happy life with a wife that adores you, kids that are happy, financial prosperity, health, fitness, everyone loving you, no problems, all joy, sex like an animal, fame and attention and glory. All of this is your old man wanting to live on without interruption, but with God now on your side.
In addition, the world continues impressing you with movies, TV shows, social media, advertisements, mass media, science, songs, poems, books, drugs (over-the-counter, prescription and illicit), alcohol, social events and everything else the world has to offer. The world never stops and most likely, your attention and experience in the world never stops either. All of this is magnifying your imagination.
Now, the enemy amplifies all your imagination. He tempts you with all you have stored up throughout your life. Whispering in your fattened subconscious that you deserve what you imagined before plus more. But everyone is out to destroy your dreams, why don’t you have what you imagined, you need to fight for what you imagined, no one gets in your way of imagining, look at what others have that you don’t, you deserve all of it. Hurry up. You’re getting older. Oh, and you are too old now to get what you imagined. Hitting you with specifics like:
Remember in porn how all the women just loved those men. How they wanted them so bad, but your wife doesn’t want you like that
Remember your boss or your client or co-workers that ruined your career. How they kept you from achieving. How they were so wrong and you were so right. If only they hadn’t gotten in your way. Keep hating them, it’s all their fault.
Remember when you played sports, how good you were. You’re older now, and no one can see your glory like back then. If only people could see how awesome you really are, they would respect and adore you like a king.
Look at where you are. God broke His promise with you. God doesn’t love you like these other folks that have everything you imagined. Where is God now? He never shows up.
Hopefully you are seeing just how intense and continuous your imagination truly is. It is relentless and has been since you were born, you have just never recognized its power.
Passivity
Take your imagination today and from the past, consider it’s mostly improperly built like just discussed, then add in passivity and you have one hell of a recipe for disaster and destruction.
Passivity is mostly destructive because you are unaware of its activity (pun intended) in your life. It’s a silent killer. You don’t consider yourself lazy so you would never think you would be “passive.” However, you go about your daily living and imagining the way you always have without realizing everything you have imagined is incorrect.
Brothers, this is a very hard pill to swallow. I have gone through great pains watching my imagination and dreams literally die. All these ideas, these visions, these hopes and dreams, were wrong? Seriously, I’m wrong! You mean to tell me I have been working so hard and pushing so much to only find myself… wrong.
To top it off, even when you experience the revelation that you were wrong, you continue to live in your old man imagination without realizing it. Here’s the biggest “passive” issue. Your deep-rooted imagination creates:
Emotions of inspiration and dreaming, which then create
Thoughts of disappointment, anger, jealousy, revenge, or
Thoughts of ambition, overcoming and desire, which then drive your
Will to achieve all your imagination, which then create action with your
Body to create the physical representation of all your imaginations
You then turnaround in a day, week, month, year or decade and look at your physical situation and you are completely unsatisfied. Consider the fact that no one on planet earth is “satisfied”, even the most wealthy, most famous and most accomplished. Why do we imagine things that truly bring no satisfaction.
You must realize everything above happens in a split second. That’s the other trick of passivity. These imaginations, emotions, thoughts, will and bodily actions happen so fast, so naturally, and you are not even aware they are happening. This is called passivity. This is your enemy. This is your battle.
To he unaware of that you are in a battle is the greatest self-destructive catalyst in life. You are doomed - and that is EXACTLY what God’s enemy wants with His God-man.
Active God-man Imagination
We warriors MUST have active imagination in God:
First, we imagine God and Him only. Period.
Second, we are continuously active with our imagination of God. Relentless. Moment by moment. Day by day. Till death.
Have you ever read in Revelations 12:11 “…and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.” We mostly love our soul-life because we have imagined all of our lives a life that is out of our Father's purpose for our very existence. When faced with death, we eagerly hold onto everything we have imagined and are completely afraid of losing it. We love our soul-life!
As a warrior in God’s Kingdom, we are here for Him. If we imagine all things God, there is nothing to fear. Fear is only present outside of God and inside our soul-living.
If we don't imagine our soul-life, we won’t love it. How can we love something that we don’t imagine? If we don’t imagine things in this world, of our old man and dismiss the enemy’s attempts to all of them, we have no love for our soul-life. This is our crucifixion, our better death. Amen for a the better death!
When we imagine in the new man, the resurrected man, the new creation, the God-man, all things God become ours. This is when we take on our victory. This is when the fruits of the Spirit express God Himself. This is when we represent God with power, authority and life.
Just like a warrior going into battle, we surrender and sacrifice everything for the glory of our Mighty Warrior, our King. We shout with a warrior cry, stay focused, active and fight till our death. For God's cause. For the purpose. For the victory.
So imagine away brothers. But, imagine away in God. Seek His face. Dwell in His house. All the days of your life.
In this imagination you will always be satisfied. Your thirst is quenched. No fear and no limits.
Prayer
“Father, I pray for Your Kingdom, Your army, Your mission, Your sons, Your expression, Your representation, Your masterpiece, Your plan, Your vision, to be infused in spirit by Spirit to your overcoming soldiers on planet earth right now. That You recover our imagination to become activated every moment toward You and only You. No woman, no kid, no job, no party, just You.
As Your created men, we need a fight, and we only want to win. We fight the good fight, we finish the work, we love not our soul-life, even unto death. We are crucified with Christ and we walk by the Spirit, step by step, day by day.
All praise and glory forever and ever to You Father, Mighty Warrior, King.
Amen.
Well Done, My Son
A wild dreamer. He was alone in the thoughts he built for his life.
A change maker. Not enough time to create the meaning to die.
On the gravel road, the dust on trees leaves remnants of his mind,
While the twists and turns break the speed of which he ran.
Though the frost kills dreams of yesterday again,
On the hill the sun rises to reveal his design.
Well done, My son.
He woke him. Now his thoughts spin wild for things of this life.
They took him. He doubts His ways to strengthen him to fight.
On the gravel road, the dust on trees leaves remnants of his mind,
While the twists and turns break the speed of which he ran.
Though the frost kills dreams of yesterday again,
On the hill the sun rises to reveal his design.
Well done, My son.
He woke him. Now his soul rests to exist in spirit of design.
He took him. He changed his world to dream wilder for all time.
Well done, My son.
You’ll be a Man, My Son
“If you can keep your head when all about you, Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;”
Perspective. In the midst of daily battle, people can lose perspective. They forget their power, integrity and legacy. But not the warrior.
The warrior maintains the power to keep perspective, reckoning the battle cries all day, every day for everybody. The power to lead the charge, by example, when others are down, doubting and denying.
The integrity to hold true to the ultimate cause of battling in the light, for the light, through the light, with the light, TO the light. Even when others are blaming you.
Poem: If —
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run—
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son!
Joseph Rudyard Kipling is best known for his novels The Jungle Book, The Second Jungle Book, and Kim, and his most famous poem, "If—". Read more…