Motivation for Your God-Given Dreams!

Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

God has given us something incredibly powerful in our life. Everyone is aware of it—even familiar with it. What am I talking about? Your imagination! It is a powerful tool! Is is a powerful source of motivation! Unfortunately, few people understand know how to tap into it or use it. As a matter of fact, because people don’t know how to tap into it, many act like a burglar using a ladder to break into a window. They try to break into it wrongfully.

Too many people use alcohol and drugs to break into it to escape the reality of this world. That’s a sad truth and a total waste of something precious and powerful from God. Pot might stoke your imagination but I promise you it won’t be a God-lead imagination.

Your favorite movies and novels, the most amazing architectural structures, your favorite technologies, and the phenomenal stunts and athletic feats you’ve been awed by, were all born from the imagination. Your imagination is a God-given gift to help excite you and motivate you. It’s the creative zone within you that God has given to help you imagine the life He wants for you, and to better the world! God wants you to understand why He gave you an imagination and its function and purpose. When you do, you can use it for good and right reasons. Discover that and you’ll also learn that your imagination is one of the most powerful motivators and energizers there is! Over time, it will be instinctively used by you to power your God-given dreams. When you read Jeremiah 29:11 NLT, you can see that God is triggering your imagination: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Have you ever dreamed of something you desire to do, over and over for years? That happens in the imagination. The more you dream about it, the closer you get to the spark that launches you into action toward its fulfillment.

Have you ever watched an infomercial? They are designed to excite your imagination and stir you to dream about how to do or have something better in your life. Whether it’s to lose weight, shape those abs, improve your golf swing, experience keeping younger, have the perfect cooking tools, or cooking the perfect meal, they are painting pictures in your imagination and stoking your motivation to buy it! Motivation leads to action. Motivation acted upon equals power.

God gave you your imagination so that you could dream the dreams that direct you in the path He has for your life. And so you can have faith that He’ll help you get there and achieve them. God doesn’t want us to use our imagination for just anything—especially to create evil or things contrary to God’s will. Jeremiah 11:7-8 NLT “For I solemnly warned your ancestors… repeating over and over again to this day: “Obey me!” But your ancestors did not pay any attention; they would not even listen. Instead, they stubbornly followed their own evil imaginations.…” Our imaginations are for the benefit of God’s plan and for our benefit, but also for the benefit of others. And if they are going to be blessed by God, they will need to be aligned with His Word and will.

God reveals Himself to us—who He is, His character and desires, His will for all humanity, what He desires for us, and His purpose for our lives. He does the revealing. Our imagination is necessary to help paint the picture of what He tells us. Isaiah 26:3 NLT says “You will keep in perfect peace all whose thoughts (imaginations) are fixed on you!”

When my children were little, I knew what I wanted them to become like. I’m not speaking of their occupation or profession. I mean a God-loving productive influence for Jesus in this earth. I knew how important that would be and so I began to imagine how to put God’s Word into them in fun ways they’d enjoy and benefit from. Renee and I both imagined that. It motivated us. We acted upon it. Now we are receiving the benefit of that as our children are productive adults learning to walk out purposed-filled lives for God.

In 1985 I created the world’s first commercial infant changing table that you now see in public restrooms worldwide. Before I invented it, I imagined it for three years. I took the steps of praying and seeking God about it, And then reading about inventing, patents, and the cost of getting it done. I then shifted to designing, and inventing it. Without the imagination that they would one day be in every public restroom in America, I would have never started. My imagination fueled my motivation and empowered me. It became a reality!

When I began to write Fresh Manna, I imagined people reading it, giving their lives over to Jesus, drawing closer to Him, and letting His word transform their lives. It’s now been read in over 225 countries, territories, and regions around the world. Without that imagination, I wouldn’t have the inner strength to do this for the past 20 years. It takes a minimum of three hours for every post I write. I am not paid for it. I take no pay for it. So where is my motivation? Initially, imagining lives transformed through Jesus and learning of God’s love, instruction, and blessing in living for Him! Once I started and people started reading, it wasn’t long before daily testimonies from readers came in sharing how it had helped change their lives. These testimonies have fueled me every day all these years!

Isaiah 55:8 (NLT) says, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” Let God take you beyond what you know and you can do in yourself and ask Him to reveal what He knows and lead you! Let Him fill your imagination! It’s a God-given ability within you to glorify Him and bless you! You are already using it, but tap into it and use it for what God gave it to you for!

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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