Friend, you, too, will produce what you keep in front of you. What kind of pictures have you placed on the walls of your mind? Do you see yourself getting stronger and healthier? Do you see yourself rising higher in life, accomplishing your dreams?
Develop A Better Picture | Sermon
Scripture Reading For Your Best Life Now Mark 8:14-25
You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear? Don’t you remember anything at all?
Mark 8:18 Nlt
Recently, A Middle-aged man told me, “Joel, I always knew I was going to get diabetes. My father had it. My grandfather had it. It’s been in my family line for generations.”
He told me that from the time he was a teenager, he had known the day was coming when he’d hear the doctor give him that dire diagnosis. He was expecting it. He already saw himself with diabetes, and, unfortunately, he got exactly what he predicted.
Some people might think he got diabetes because he didn’t have faith. No, I hate to say it, but his faith was working just fine.
Do you know your faith can function negatively just as easily as it will function positively? If your family has a long history of sickness and disease, don’t sit back and see yourself the same way. “Well, I guess this is my lot in life.”
No, you—more than anybody else—need to start developing a new picture. You need to see yourself as strong, healthy, and living a long, satisfied life. You can be the one to break that curse of ill health.
But the first thing you must do is change the image you have of yourself on the inside. Get a new vision. Make sure your eyes are filled with light.
That is what my mother did back in 1981, when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and the doctors gave her only a few weeks to live. In my book Your Best Life Now, I told the story of how Mother prayed, believed, and quoted aloud passages of Scripture related to healing every day. But Mother didn’t just pray. She didn’t just quote the Scripture.
She also put up pictures of herself all over the house—pictures taken previously at happy times in her life, when she was healthy. She put pictures in the kitchen, the living room, even in the bathroom. Everywhere she went, she saw those images of health and happiness.
Mother could easily have looked in the mirror and gotten depressed. She could have let the wrong image take root. After all, she weighed only eighty-nine pounds. She was weak, emaciated, and her skin had already turned a deathly color of yellow.
But instead of dwelling on that image, Mother put up pictures in which she was vibrantly happy. I recall that in her bathroom she had a picture of herself wearing a pink cowboy hat and riding a big brown horse during a family vacation in Montana.
Every time she went into that bathroom, she saw herself happy, healthy, and enjoying life. In the kitchen, she placed pictures from her wedding. In the den, she hung other photos that portrayed her as happy, strong, healthy, and living life to the full.
She refused to dwell on the negative diagnosis; she didn’t focus on her sick body. She looked out through her eyes of faith, and she saw herself the way she wanted to be. Externally, she was weak and feeble, but internally, on the inside in her heart and mind, she was strong, determined, and healthy.
She refused to let that weak, defeated image take root. Instead, she insisted on seeing herself as the victor and not the victim. God, in His goodness, totally healed her.
She became what she saw and to this day, more than twenty years later, she’s as healthy as she can be. She could even get on that big horse again if she wanted to.
Friend, you, too, will produce what you keep in front of you. What kind of pictures have you placed on the walls of your mind? Do you see yourself getting stronger and healthier? Do you see yourself rising higher in life, accomplishing your dreams?
At my house, all around me I have pictures of things that inspire me. I like looking at beautiful sunsets. I like seeing eagles soaring in the sky. On my desk at home I have articles and letters people have written to me that have spoken faith into my life.
I have pictures of our family when we were having fun together. I have a photograph of my dad and me going down the Amazon River. I like to put things in front of me that remind me of good times in the past, while expanding my vision for better experiences in the future.
In your home or office, put things up that build your faith. Put out photos that bring back good memories. Put pictures on the wall or on your desk that show you living life to the full.
When you look at those pictures, don’t just go by them and say, “I wish I was still that happy,” or, “I wish I could still fit in that size dress,” or, “I wish I still had that much hair.”
No, let the image of victory take root. Get it on the inside. For many people, it helps to decorate their walls with Scripture verses.
On the bathroom mirror or where you get dressed, place Scriptures such as “I can do all things through Christ” or “This is the day the Lord has made.” On the refrigerator, remind yourself, “I am more than a conqueror,” and “God always causes me to triumph.”
At the back door, place the truth “God’s favor is surrounding me like a shield,” or “Goodness and mercy are following me today.” Put up things that build you up spiritually, keep you filled with faith, and help you to have a big vision for your life.
What kind of pictures have you placed on the walls of your mind?
Don’t get stuck in a rut. Nothing may be going right for you today, but start seeing yourself rising out of it. See yourself overcoming that addiction. Envision yourself getting that promotion. Let that new image sink deep down inside you. To produce it on the outside, you must first picture it on the inside.
Today’s Prayer for Your Best Life Now
Father, please help me to take down the negative pictures in my mind and to replace them with faith-filled photos, special memories, and images of hope for a tremendous future. I believe You want me to enlarge my vision, to expand my horizons, and to engage in a life that will have eternal significance.