Day 17: Interrupt the Picture
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2 NKJV
“You do not have to keep watching the same picture simply because it keeps appearing in your mind. Through the Word of God, you can interrupt the picture and replace it with truth.” — Dr. Daniel LeBlanc
Interrupt the Picture
Have you ever had something happen and then replayed it in your mind for hours? You remember what someone said, how they looked at you, what you should have said, and what you wish you had done differently. Before long, you have experienced the same event twenty times even though it only happened once.
That is what our imagination can do. It can take something that happened yesterday and make us experience it again today. The event may be over, but the picture keeps playing in our mind as though it were happening all over again.
Fear can do the same thing with the future. Nothing has happened yet, but suddenly you can see the diagnosis, the financial loss, the rejection, the accident, or everything falling apart. Before you realize it, you are feeling the emotions of something that has never even happened.
At some point, we have to interrupt the picture. We cannot stop every thought or picture from entering our mind, but we do not have to sit there and watch it over and over again.
Paul said we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Romans 12:2 shows us that God wants to change the way we think because the way we think affects the way we live. He never intended for us to become prisoners of every picture our past, our emotions, our flesh, our circumstances, or the enemy puts before us.
Sometimes we try to change a picture by fighting with it. We keep telling ourselves, “I am not going to think about that anymore,” while the whole time we are still thinking about it. God gives us something better than simply trying not to think about the wrong thing because He gives us truth to put in its place.
I love the story of David and Goliath because everyone on that battlefield was looking at the same giant. They all heard the same threats and saw the same impossible situation, but David saw something different because his imagination was filled with what God had already done.
David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:37 NKJV. Instead of sitting there imagining what Goliath might do to him, David remembered what God had already done for him.
Sometimes that is exactly what we need to do. When fear starts showing you everything that could go wrong, stop and remember the times God has already been faithful. Remember the prayer He answered, the door He opened, the provision He supplied, and the situation you thought would destroy you but somehow God brought you through.
The enemy wants you rehearsing the giant, but faith remembers the lion and the bear. One picture makes the giant bigger while the other reminds you how big your God is.
This applies to more than fear. Someone can hurt you one time, but you can replay the offense a thousand times until bitterness begins growing inside you. You can fail at something and replay the failure until you stop saying, “I failed,” and begin saying, “I am a failure.”
Temptation can work the same way. A thought may enter your mind, but if you keep looking at the picture, imagining it, and feeding it with your attention, the desire can become stronger. That is why there are some pictures you simply need to stop watching.
When you recognize that a wrong picture is playing, ask yourself, “What has God said about this?” Then deliberately turn your attention toward His Word. You are not pretending the problem does not exist, but you are refusing to allow the problem to become greater in your imagination than the God who is with you.
Philippians 4:8 tells us to think about things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. God would not tell us what to think about if we had no choice concerning what we continually allow our minds to dwell upon.
You may not be able to prevent the first picture from appearing, but you can decide whether you are going to keep watching it. The Holy Spirit can help you recognize when your imagination starts moving in the wrong direction and bring your attention back to truth.
Maybe the picture says, “I will always be this way.” Interrupt it with the truth that you are a new creation in Christ. Maybe the picture says, “There is no way through this.” Interrupt it by remembering that nothing is impossible with God.
Maybe fear is showing you everything that could go wrong tomorrow. Instead of spending today living inside a tomorrow that has not happened, remember the faithfulness of the God who has never left you.
This is not pretending that everything is fine when it is not. It is choosing to allow God’s Word rather than fear, pain, circumstances, or the enemy to determine the picture you continually behold.
Today, pay attention to what keeps replaying in your imagination. If the picture contradicts God’s Word, you do not have to sit there and watch it again and again. Interrupt the picture and turn your attention toward what God has said.
You may not be able to change what happened yesterday, but you can change what you continue to behold today. Give God the opportunity to paint something new within you and begin seeing your situation through His Word instead of through the old picture.
Prayer
Father, help me recognize every wrong picture I have allowed to continually replay within me. Holy Spirit, remind me of Your Word and of the many times You have already been faithful to me. I refuse to continually rehearse fear, offense, failure, temptation, or defeat. Renew my mind and teach me to interrupt every picture that contradicts Your truth. I choose to behold what You have said and allow Your Word to shape my imagination. Amen.
Today’s God Imagination
I do not have to keep watching a picture that contradicts God’s Word. When fear, pain, failure, offense, or temptation begins replaying within me, I will interrupt the picture and turn my attention toward truth. God is greater than what I see, greater than what I feel, and greater than what I have experienced. His Word is painting a new picture within me.
