Why Imagination Matters - Take Every Thought Captive (Part 1)
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 KJV
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 5 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;
How many of you pay attention to your thoughts and what you are thinking? How many of you try to also control what you think, or do you let it roam? Do your thoughts ever seem like it is hard to control? Why does 2 Corinthians 10:5 instruct us to cast down every imagination?
I am a daydreamer. I can get lost in my thoughts and imagination often. After reading that scripture it led me down a rabbit hole of trying to figure out what is the point of imagination. Imagination leads to creativity which leads to doing. God, creating us in his image, also made us creative like Him and we cannot create without imagination. Scientifically, you cannot do anything significant without imagining it first.
Some people minimize their thought life as though they are unimportant. They say things like "oh it’s just something in my head, no big deal." But what is in your head, in your mind, matters a lot. These negative thoughts about us leads to self-sabotage. And our thoughts come from our beliefs.
I see this all the time as a therapist. Most people when told they need to change the way they think to start getting better look at me like “well that can’t be it”. Maybe it sounds too simple to them. Maybe people want to hear something grandiose. But no. Changing your life is simple. Hard but simple. It is simple because the steps and system are there. Everything runs on a system. Countries, schools, businesses, even your life. Some have systems that lead to success. Some have systems that fail and help no one, or at worst, causes harm. The system has proven to work, yet there is a disbelief about if it will. But more specifically, that it will work for them. This is what then makes it hard. The execution.
People like to think they are special whether in a good or bad way. Often, we believe the lie that no one else is going through what I am going through. We believe the lie that although it worked for many others it will not work for me. Yes, different things work for different people. Regardless of technique. Those who get better changed something about how they think, what they believe and what they do. That is the formula.
And if you think it won’t work for you. Then it won’t.
If you do not think it will work for you, you are not allowing yourself to think of something different or better.
Can we do anything without imagining it first? No
Every action started with a thought. Some people think this is not true. Especially if you struggle with impulsive behaviors. But I guarantee you there was a thought. It happened very quickly, and you were unaware. Or it is happening subconsciously which obviously means you are unaware of it. Our beliefs are mainly stored in our subconscious mind. According to psychology, about 97% of what we do, think and believe is informed by our subconscious mind.
Every business, whether successful or not, started with a thought. An idea that someone had, then decided to pursue it. They had to imagine it first then it led to certain actions to make that imagination a reality.
Every relationship starts and ends with a thought. "Should I say hello, follow up or ask to hang out". To thoughts of "is this person right for me, are they a good friend, should I block them or cut them off". Every cheater, murderer, back biter, and the list goes on, entertained a thought. When you have those thoughts, what decision will you make?
This applies to our mental and spiritual health as well. The bible tells us to cast down our imagination to be obedient to Christ. Because if your mind is not obedient to Christ then your life won’t be. Your actions won’t be.
The enemy will plant these seeds in our minds. Once a seed is planted into our minds it will lead to action. The intrusive thought that tells you to harm yourself, or make you feel so ugly you starve yourself thin. Thoughts that fill you with so much self-righteousness that you treat people poorly. Everything we act out comes from our imagination. Imagination is crucial for planning, problem-solving, and creating new ideas. This means that even simple actions often involve a mental picture or concept forming in our minds, before we act. Action is the last form of creation.
There are some categories of people who like to avoid their thoughts. When they sit and start to think they get overwhelmed and anxious. Because of this, they try to stay as busy as possible to avoid thinking. This is unhelpful because the anxiety will not go away doing that. Avoidance makes anxiety worse. And by doing this you are not managing your thoughts and imagination well. This can lead to feelings of being stuck. Stuck because you are not thinking, learning, solving problems and challenging certain beliefs.
This is one of the great things about therapy. It gives you that time and space to think through your thoughts that many people will not do on their own. And it is not always because of avoidance or laziness. Some people barely have time for the work they do and raising their children, so I get it. Once again this is when therapy is helpful. With therapy you already have about an hour every week blocked off to help you do this.
Whenever God tells us to change a behavior, we must first change the way we think about it. Romans 12:2 reminds us that we transform by changing our minds, not behavior modification. This leads to true repentance. Repentance is to change your mind. Change what you think to what God thinks. If you force the person to do something but they never believe it in their mind and heart, it will not last.
The thoughts we entertain are what will affect us the most. Human beings have thousands of thoughts a day. Obviously, we do not focus on all of them but there are a few that we do. The person who does not care about going to the gym but knows they should go, will have a quick thought, then it is gone. Someone who is intentional about their workout does not only think about going to the gym, they are also imagining themselves there. Thinking about what work out to do, which part of the body to focus on and what machine they will use. This is the difference between a fleeting thought and when we use our imagination. Imagination is created by what we are more intentional about when we are thinking. What we decide to entertain. And yes, it is a decision. We can decide what we focus on.
Proverbs 11:9 says that knowledge brings deliverance. Why? Firstly, where does knowledge come from. Proverbs 1:7 tells us that, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”. Therefore, first I must fear the Lord to gain knowledge. Then when I fear The Lord, this knowledge will deliver me and set me free. This will set my mind free. Because the truth shall set you free John 8:32. Jesus Christ is the Truth, John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The knowledge of God will help you see the things you cannot see that is affecting your life. We cannot see the spiritual world with our naked eyes. Since we cannot see it with our naked eye it can put us at a disadvantage. However, when we fear the Lord, we gain access to that knowledge.
I need the knowledge to know what to do. I mentioned before that there is a saying in medicine that it is dangerous to not know what you don’t know. If you do not know you have cancer, then how can you do anything to get yourself better. If I have no knowledge of generational curses that are in my family bloodline, I won’t know what to do to be delivered from the consequences of it. Or even realize that this the source of some pain and hardships. I must first have the knowledge about it, to do something about it. You can’t solve a problem you are unaware of. But it doesn’t mean the problem is not there just because you are unaware. Ignorance is not bliss.
Our imagination sparks our creativity. Then God will use that creativity for his purpose and plan. What He already created you to do before you were born, but he needs you to seek and discover it. Which will require an imagination. Imagination changes what you perceive and your reality.
Imagination alone can also trigger the body. If you are imagining anything long enough, your body reacts as if it is happening in the present. Your mind perceives it as real. Then everything else follows. You will feel the emotions and experience it in your body as if you were reliving that event again. When a person experience trauma they may experience flashbacks. Flashbacks are when the mind involuntarily recalls and re-experience a past event. With that recall, the person will react as though it its not a memory but something happening in the present. Then the same emotions from that past traumatic experience will start to come up for that person. Their body will also react the same way as well. This goes to show how powerful our mind really is in affecting us emotionally and physically.
Knowledge can change your perception once you allow yourself to receive it. Once it changes your mind it can lead you to more knowledge because you are working with a new perception now. Now you can perceive or discover another new thing with that different mindset.
This is how people can re-read the bible and get new knowledge and understanding from it every time. How did I get new knowledge and understanding reading the same words? The words in the Bible did not change. So why did my perception and understanding of it change? It is because my mind changed. I read the text differently because I have new knowledge from the Holy Spirit, leading me to see more into the mystery of His Word.
My mind changed giving me the ability to take in the information. This is why stubborn and prideful people do not grow. They are incapable of taking in new information and changing their minds.
If we are incapable of taking in new information, it can affect our growth. Now we must be careful about what new information we are taking in because not all of it may be truth. Every knowledge that comes our way must be tested against the word of God. We need new information because before you came to Christ your mind was filled with lies from the world. Your mind and how you think must change.
Pay attention to your imagination. Is it limited only to thinking and worrying about earthly things? Is it limited to only thinking about yourself? Never thinking and imagining things that are above, that are pure, that are just, or helpful to others? Are you never imagining your future? A better future?
I concluded that my imagination is something I need to always take seriously. I must make my imagination obedient to Christ because if my mind is obedient to Christ then I will be. Our mind, our thoughts are where we make decisions.
I heard a definition for the word to decide that I liked which is to cut yourself off from any other possibility. When you decide to get married you accept that you will have to cut off the possibility of being with someone else. Well, at least you’re supposed to. When you decide to pursue a career, you cut off the possibility of pursuing another career. When I decide to follow Jesus, I cut off following any other god, including myself. I cut it off and I decided in my mind that this is what I will do, and every other option does not matter anymore. But that decision starts with our mind.
Deciding to follow Christ is like love. It is a choice you must make every single day. Every single day new obstacles will come up against you. New arguments will come up against you and the word of God you believe in. Or there is new knowledge God will want to reveal to you, a new thing he wants you to do. How do we test to make sure the information we take in is true? What knowledge and thoughts will I accept or deny? What will you decide? What will you allow yourself to imagine?
