DAY 7: WHO HAS BEEN HOLDING THE BRUSH?
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NKJV
“You may not have chosen every picture that was painted upon your heart, but through Christ you can choose who holds the brush from this moment forward.” — Dr. Daniel LeBlanc
WHO HAS BEEN HOLDING THE BRUSH?
For the past six days, we have been discovering the incredible gift God has placed within us called imagination. We have learned that there is a picture within us, that spiritual realities exist beyond what our natural eyes can see, that the Word can paint upon our hearts, and that what we continually behold can begin shaping who we become. Now we come to an important question: Who has been holding the brush?
Your imagination did not develop in a vacuum. From childhood until today, people, experiences, words, circumstances, successes, failures, disappointments, fears, and relationships have all had opportunities to paint something upon the canvas of your heart.
Some pictures may have been beautiful. Perhaps someone believed in you when you did not believe in yourself. Someone spoke words that helped you see possibilities you had never considered. Maybe a parent, pastor, teacher, coach, spouse, or friend helped you see something in yourself that eventually became part of who you are today. But not every picture was painted by God.
Someone may have told you that you would never amount to anything. Rejection may have painted a picture that said you were unwanted. Failure may have painted a picture that said you could never succeed. Religion may have painted a picture of a God who is continually angry with you. Fear may have painted a future filled with disaster, while temptation may have painted sin as something desirable. The picture may have remained so long that you stopped questioning who painted it. That is why Proverbs tells us, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NKJV. God tells us to guard our hearts because what is happening within us eventually influences how we live.
There is something important we must understand about guarding the heart. God has given us responsibility concerning what we allow to remain there. He has given us His Word, the Holy Spirit, the gift of righteousness, spiritual authority, and the power of choice. God will not make every choice for us. He could have created human beings without the ability to choose, but love without choice is not really love. Obedience without choice is not really obedience. God desires sons and daughters who willingly respond to Him.
That means we cannot spend our lives blaming everyone else for the picture within us. Yes, some may have had a bad childhood. Tragic things may have happened that never should have happened. Words may have been spoken, wounds inflicted, trust broken, and memories formed that still hurt when we think about them. We are not pretending those things were right, nor are we denying that they happened. But Paul reminds us that our past does not have to become the picture of our future. He said, “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” Philippians 3:13 NKJV. Paul was not saying that he had somehow lost the memory of everything behind him. He was refusing to allow what was behind him to determine what he would continue reaching toward.
Think about someone painting a picture. One of the most beautiful things about a canvas is the ability of the artist to paint over an old image. Something may have been painted there that no longer belongs in the picture, but the artist does not have to throw away the entire canvas. He can paint something new over what was there until the old image no longer defines what you see. What a picture of redemption! God Imagination does not rewrite our history or pretend the painful things never happened. It allows God to redeem the picture our history left within us. The old image does not have to remain the picture we continually behold. God can paint His truth over rejection, His love over abandonment, His righteousness over shame, His faith over fear, and His purpose over what appeared to be wasted years.
Perhaps someone really did hurt you. Maybe words were spoken over you that should never have been spoken. Perhaps you experienced rejection, betrayal, abuse, failure, disappointment, or loss. Those experiences were real, and we do not have to pretend they never happened. But what happened to you does not have to keep holding the brush. At some point, we must recognize that God has given us the ability to decide what we will continue agreeing with. We may not have chosen the original wound, but through Christ we can choose whether the wound continues defining our identity. We may not have chosen the words spoken over us, but we can choose whether those words have greater authority in our imagination than the Word of God.
This is where God Imagination becomes deeply personal. Imagine standing before the canvas of your heart and asking the Holy Spirit, “Show me what has been painted here that did not come from You.” Perhaps He reveals fear, rejection, condemnation, shame, lust, pride, offense, insecurity, or a picture of yourself based upon your past rather than who you are in Christ. When He reveals it, you have a choice. You can defend the old picture because it has been there for years, or you can surrender it. You can continue saying, “That is just the way I am,” or you can ask, “Is this the way God says I am?”
God does not expose a wrong picture to condemn you. He reveals it because He wants to paint something better. This is where repentance becomes beautiful. Repentance is more than feeling badly about something we have done. The Greek word metanoia carries the idea of a change of mind. God is inviting us to change the way we think so our inner picture can come into agreement with His truth. You may have been seeing yourself as rejected, but God calls you accepted in the Beloved. You may have been seeing yourself as powerless before sin, but God says sin shall not have dominion over you. You may have been seeing yourself as defeated, but God says you are more than a conqueror through Christ. Which picture will you choose?
God Imagination does not mean pretending difficult things are not real. It means refusing to allow anything to become more authoritative within your imagination than what God has spoken. The enemy may whisper, but he does not own the canvas. Your past may speak, but it does not hold the brush. Fear may present a picture, but it does not get the final word. Jesus is Lord. The Holy Spirit lives within you, the Word of God has been given to you, righteousness is your gift in Christ, and God has given you the power to choose what receives your agreement. That means you can stop handing the brush to every voice that wants to paint upon your heart. Before agreeing with a picture, ask yourself: Does this agree with God’s Word? Does this look like Jesus? Is this producing faith or fear? Is this leading me toward righteousness or sin? Is this the picture God is painting, or is another kingdom trying to influence what I see?
These questions are not intended to make us fearful of every thought. They help us become intentional about what we allow to shape our inner world. During this first week, we have been learning to discover the picture. Before we can change what is within us, we must first recognize what is there and understand the incredible gift God has given us.
Next week we are going deeper. We are going to discern the picture. We will begin asking where certain thoughts come from, how a whisper can become a picture, how fear attempts to pick up the brush, and how experiences from our past can continue influencing what we see today. We are not going there to become more conscious of darkness. We are going there so we can become more sensitive to God and increasingly free from anything that contradicts His truth.
So before you finish today, ask the Holy Spirit one simple question: “Who has been holding the brush?” Then make a decision. From this moment forward, fear does not hold the brush. Rejection does not hold the brush. Temptation does not hold the brush. Your past does not hold the brush. Other people’s opinions do not hold the brush. Give the canvas to God. Let His Word define what is true. Let the Holy Spirit illuminate what He has spoken. Let Jesus become the picture you continually behold. Then exercise the precious gift of choice God has given you and agree with the picture He is painting within your heart.
Prayer
Father, thank You for showing me the power of the imagination You have given me. Holy Spirit, reveal any picture within me that does not agree with Your Word and character. I refuse to allow fear, rejection, condemnation, temptation, failure, my past, or the opinions of others to define what I see. Thank You for the gift of righteousness, the authority I have through Jesus Christ, and the power to choose what receives my agreement. Paint Your truth over every old picture that contradicts who You say I am. I surrender the canvas of my heart to You. Let Your Word hold the brush and paint Your truth within me until I increasingly see myself, others, my circumstances, and my future through Your eyes. Amen.
Today’s God Imagination
My past does not hold the brush. What happened to me does not have to become the picture of my future. God can paint a new picture upon the canvas of my heart. Fear does not hold the brush. Rejection does not hold the brush. Temptation does not hold the brush. The opinions of others do not hold the brush. I choose God’s Word, God’s truth, and God’s picture. I surrender the canvas of my heart to Him and choose a God Imagination.
