Picture this: A great speaker walks into the room. She unfolds a story with vivid imagery and captivating characters. You are immersed in another world, using your imagination, envisioning every detail, forming an image, perhaps adding in some details of your own. The gifted speaker is illustrating a point for you, and instead of expounding on facts and figures, she helps you “see”. You glean the lesson’s meaning and significance through your imagination. This speaker uses the finest method of communication, indeed.
God oftentimes communicates in imagery, understanding the way we learn and grow. The Spirit engages with us through our imagination, touching our souls, healing our wounds, and revealing hidden lessons which vary from person to person. Scripture combined with an active imagination can reach us in truly transformative ways.
Practice
“As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you” – Isaiah 66:13
Can you picture a woman comforting her child? Where is she sitting? How is she dressed? Is she rocking her child? Is it nighttime? Or perhaps she is sitting in a subway surrounded by people who don’t care. Is she smiling? Is she crying? How old is this child? What has happened to him or her? Each one of us experiences a different image of this mother and the nature and manner of her comfort, depending on our experiences, our needs, and our longings. God leaves the details up to us. But one thing is certain: if we allow our meditation to interact with our imagination we will form an image. And if we dwell on that image, not once or twice but repeatedly and deeply, then it will become a way in which God communicates with us when we need comfort. The voice of God comes not with words alone, but in the interaction of words and imagination.
“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” -Genesis 1:1-2
Imagine God in the form of wind hovering over the dark, formless waters. The act of creation of light and order has not begun, and yet God is present, active, anticipating what is coming, waiting to act but not detached or uncaring. What does this image conjure up for you? What does it say about you and God? Dwell on this, allowing God to speak to you through this symbolism. Have you been in deep darkness? Can you feel the chaos and the need for order? Have you, perhaps, thought of God as absent during times of grief or desperation? Can you picture the wind of God hovering over you, waiting, anticipating, keeping company, moving, planning, and being fully present? With eyes closed, dwell on this image and allow it to penetrate your soul.
Apply
Meditate on Scripture passages asking God to engage with you in imaginative ways.
Give freedom to your imagination and expect God’s personal message to you.
Spend time with the imagery that speaks to you, journal it, draw it, and talk about it with trusted friends.
Don’t expect God’s voice to be the same with each image. Sometimes God speaks loud and clear, sometimes you barely hear a faint whisper, and sometimes you hear nothing at all, at least, not immediately. Our spiritual formation does not fit into formulas or neat cause and effect patterns. Remember, God is the most imaginative of all. The Spirit oftentimes communicates in mysterious and unplanned ways.
Here are some passages to get you started: Mark 4:26-29, Ps 65:9-13, John 13:3-9, Ps 23
I would love to hear how God is speaking to you through Scripture and your active and inspired imagination.
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