When imagination and excitement are mixed together, you will either not notice obstacles or they will be largely diminished—and, therefore, your courage will increase! This is important to remember as you pursue your God-given purpose.
If God has revealed His purpose for your life and you feel that it is more than you can achieve, consider the power and gift of your God-given imagination. Through it, God can make your purpose happen!
Through imagination things are created.
Albert Einstein said, “Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” And in the 1950s, author Napolean Hill wrote, “The imagination is literally the workshop wherein are fashioned all plans created by man.”
Truly, everything that has been created by mankind: skyscrapers, skis, cars, computers, buildings, boulevards, coffee cups, cotton balls and even things immaterial such as concepts and philosophies all began in the mind of someone before they became reality.
Indeed, God is the Creator and He has blessed us with minds to create, too, through the power of imagination.
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t believe that we can manipulate our lives through thought to the point that we can become our own god and make anything happen that we want. Thankfully, God is far too sovereign for that! Instead, imagination is a tool whereby we cooperate with Him to participate in His divine nature and fulfill our God-given purpose.
Imagination diminishes and eliminates the perception of obstacles.
The concept of discovering God’s will for your life can be both exciting and intimidating. In fact, both of those reactions are natural reactions when you realize that the same God who created the world that we live in out of nothing has an individualized plan for your life. Is there a way for you to really know that plan? Absolutely! If you’re in pursuit of God’s plan for your life, make sure to follow these steps.
Have you ever taken the time to truly consider the fact that before you were ever born, God already had a purpose for your life? Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV) says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Since the Bible also teaches us that God doesn’t treat any one person differently than another (Acts 10:34), we can rest assured that God also had a plan for us before we were ever formed in our mother’s womb.
Many people wrongly think, “Goal setting is unspiritual because it shows a lack of trust. It’s not right to plan. Instead, people should wait for God to lead them.‚”
Granted, God doesn’t want us to forge ahead in pride without consulting Him for direction. But neither does He want us to sit around without acting, because He’s given us gifts and talents and has also said that we are called to do good works (Eph. 2: 8-10, Romans 12:4-8, Matthew 25:14-30).
Forging ahead without seeking God or sitting back and doing nothing can stem from fear or a lack of faith. However, setting goals and consulting with Him shows that you trust Him and believe that He is able to lead you while you are moving forward.
Set goals in the context of the total person that God has made you to be.
There are many ways to approach goal setting. Some people look at the big picture, then break goals down into smaller chunks, and some like to take a looser approach. However, no matter how you set goals, it’s important to consider the total how God made you in the process.
God created you (and every person on planet Earth) with several parts. Like a pie with separate pieces, each part is critical to who you are; and all of these parts must be considered when you set goals.
The five parts of a person include:
- Spiritual
- Family
- Social
- Physical
- Work
If you fail to give each part the proper attention and care as you reach toward your God-given purpose, you’ll experience problems.
For example, because God created you as a spiritual being, He wants you to love Him with your whole heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22: 37-40). This means that your goals must agree with your spiritual convictions. If you set goals that go against what you know God asks of you, you will become fragmented emotionally and intellectually and you will lose your joy and enthusiasm.