“Take time to ask God for a fresh vision of who he is. It may not come immediately. (You might spend some time staring at your eyeballs, like me.) But I believe his response will come, and you’ll be amazed at his personal care for you.”- Aubrey Sampson
Aubrey Sampson concludes Chapter 9 of The Louder Song as she observes what happens in our hard moments. In those hard moments, we must take great care not to fill our minds and hearts with distorted images of God. For example, the author states, we can start to believe lies about God. In addition, those lies question His goodness, love, and fairness. Above all, we may believe that God has abandoned us.
However, as Aubrey exhorts, what if we invite God to reawaken our imaginations to the truth of who He actually is? As a result, we ask God to replace our distorted images of Him with complete and beautiful images. Furthermore, this practice, as Aubrey notes, involves five steps:
- Set aside some quiet time. Go for a nature walk. Or, if you prefer the indoors, dim the lights and light a candle.
- Spend time thanking God for His purpose. In the process, evict unbiblical or untrue images of God from your mind.
- Ask God to replace those false images with true ones. Internalize descriptors of God that you find in the Scriptures.
- Invite a prayer partner into the process with you. Often, prayer is more powerful with a prayer partner.
- Praise God for whatever image of word you receive. Also, ask God to help you discern the meaning of the image as well as how He wants you to grow from it.
In conclusion, Aubrey offers these words of hope:
“In lament, we ask God our doubtful questions: Do you see me? Do you hear me? Are you real? God never chides us for asking. Instead, he always answers with a resounding, mind-blowing Yes. . . . He is transforming this wet, wilted season of yours — and if you let him, transforming you in the middle of it.”
Today’s question: What gives you a fresh vision of who God is? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Build relational bridges – lament crucial”
