a sanctified imagination
do you know that your imagination is a companion to your faith? have you learned this secret?
the other morning i awoke confronted with the onslaught of details. most people would describe me as a fairly peaceful person, but the truth is, i’ve become a peaceful person. i’m tempted with fear & anxiety just as much as the next person, but i’ve learned i don’t need to agree with it. i also don’t need to carry around feelings of guilt that the anxious thoughts came to me, for they were only a temptation, & not actually sinful unless i let them in. they knocked at the door, but i didn’t answer it! (i also used to be an extremely guilt-stricken person, by the way, but praise the Lord, i’m free because the blood of Jesus has literally washed me clean of a guilty conscience! (Hebrews 9:14)
when the thoughts came that morning, i immediately took them to the Lord. He tells me to be anxious for nothing, & that literally means no.thing—it’s a command (Philippians 4:6-7)! if it’s a command, He must have made provision for me to be able to stand up under it, & He has! verses can feel like pat answers until you partner with the Holy Spirit. do you know that when you receive an answer from the Lord through His Word, the power to complete it comes along as a gift when you combine it with faith? this is deeply mystical, but true.
i allowed His thoughts to come to me in that moment, & as i considered the opposing force of fear & its partner-in-crime, anxiety, shown to me in His Word, it’s faith. but in that moment i imagined a forcefield all around me, on all sides, & the word “love” came to me, kind of like a banner. oh, right, as in “perfect love casts out fear!” i said aloud. i wondered if the shield of love image was biblical, & wouldn’t you know it, when i googled “shield of love”, there was psalm 5:11-12 :
“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them sing joyful praises forever.
Spread your protection over them,
that all who love your name may be filled with joy.
For you bless the godly, O Lord;
you surround them with your shield of love.”
i meditated on that verse (& image) all day, & He truly helped me take care of all of those details throughout my day. i was filled with joy, & His presence & grace were tangible.
along these lines, another day when i was feeling the temptation to be anxious, and i recalled philippians 4:6-7,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
i imagined a literal flock of doves, anthropomorphized, standing on guard, fully armored, around the garden of my heart, the castle of my mind. it’s prayer & praise that station those doves!
this may feel quite simplistic & child-like, but i share it because it’s been incredibly helpful for one of my imaginative children who until recently struggled severely with daily fear & anxiety. i will share her supernatural healing at a later time, but for now i want to encourage you to ask God to sanctify your imagination*—it’s a gift from God, who’s creative beyond measure—so that He can utilize it to bring comfort, wisdom, & healing to you (& your children)! the image of not needing to answer the door to anxious thoughts (or sending Jesus to answer it) was incredibly helpful to my daughter, & she may even have a flock of anthropomorphized doves in the Holy Spirit army guarding her heart & mind right now :) may His shield of love defend you from all harm—all the angry anxious darts of the enemy, this day!
p.s. here’s a little song about the shield of love, “all who love your name - psalm 5:11-12” by sherri youngward, that we recently re-discovered from our portland days…
(*sanctify simply means to set apart for sacred use 🕊️ // wallpaper is “march hare” by jane churchill)
