"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9
I felt the Lord say that we haven't even begun to imagine all the things which He has prepared for us. Our eyes haven't seen it, our ears haven't heard it, yet we hold the Bible in our hands. Beloved, it can't enter into our heart without it first entering into our mind.
"Enlarge the place of your tent...stretch out the curtains of your dwellings." Isaiah 54:2
The Lord is inviting us - He is pleading with us, His Body of believers - to enlarge our imagination and stretch it out so that these things can enter into our hearts!
Entered Into the Heart
Entering into our heart is the key that will open the doors to the things which He has already prepared for each one of us. When it enters into our hearts, we will pray like we've never prayed before because we will believe like we've never believed before.
Belief is what brings it from our head into our heart, however, it all originates in our brain. Every single day our brain is learning and gaining knowledge from each of our five senses - sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. When our heart "believes" the report that our brain sends, something will occur in the natural as well as the supernatural.
Have you ever heard of Medicalstudentitis? It is a documented and diagnosed example of encountering a real manifestation of something due to a thought or idea that has "entered into the heart." Medicalstudentitis is also known as the Medical student's disease. It is a condition frequently reported in medical students who fear that they have the disease(s) they are studying, because they are physically experiencing some of the same symptoms.
What they are experiencing are psychosomatic symptoms. Psychosomatic symptoms are genuine symptoms that appear in or on the body due to psychological (mental/emotional) factors. It is reminiscent of the phrase "worrying oneself sick." This is exactly what the individual is doing. Imagined health issues can cause real problems such as anxiety, high blood pressure, rash, nausea, headaches and muscle pain.
King Solomon hit it right on the head when he said, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7
Imagine what can happen when the people of God believe His word to the fullest degree. Imagine if the people, who are called by His name, created in His image, and filled with His Spirit, embraced this truth.
If We Believe, We Will Receive
Isaiah 53:1 says, "Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
In the example of the medical students we see that they believed the report and as a result of that, physical manifestations were occurring! Although they were experiencing negative effects, the principle is the same; if we believe it we will receive it.
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17
The medical students were reading medical journals. So then, what are we hearing when we read the Scriptures? Are we hearing what the Spirit of God is saying or are we hearing what we have rationalized through our own mind and imagination? Can you see why it is so important for us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind? (Romans 12:2).
Jesus made it very clear so there would be no room for confusion. He said here on earth as it is in Heaven, not as it will be some day when we're in Heaven.
The Living Voice, the Word of God says that all things are possible with Him. Beloved, all things are ALL things. GOD SAID SO! If it weren't possible, God would not have put the thought into our minds. He would never give us false promises. He is a loving Father, not a man that would lie.
Spiritual Heart to Mind Connection
Now, if you are anything like me, you have experienced the vast expanse that is between your heart and your mind, and you understand firsthand the difference between head knowledge and heart faith. I've gotten stuck in that rut time and time again, but Jesus has bridged that gap too!
As a born again believer, God has imparted to us the spiritual heart to mind connection! This is a divine connection of which no intellect can boast. We are His workmanship, this is how God created us when He knit us and formed us in our mother's womb. In the natural, your heart and brain communicate through neurons (nerve cells). In the spiritual, they communicate via HIM!
The Bible tells us that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts and we have been given the mind of Christ. The Spirit of God knows the deep things of God, so, spiritually speaking, when the mind of Christ sends the heart a message, the Spirit of God (who dwells there) believes it, confirms it, accepts it as Truth, and we have full circuit communication. This full circuit communication is for far more than self-help or even physical health.
God has given us this supernatural gift so that we can know in our mind, and believe in our heart, the fullness of all that He has prepared for us and walk in it here on earth (1 Corinthians 2:9-16).
In John 20:24-31, Jesus gave Thomas the invitation to enlarge his imagination. Following His resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples; all but Thomas were present. When the disciples told Thomas about it, he said, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails...and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (verse 25).
Thomas couldn't believe their report. So for the sake of it entering into his heart, Jesus reappeared to the disciples eight days later; this time Thomas was present. Jesus said to Thomas, "reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing" (verse 27). Jesus desired for Tomas to touch Him, so that he could be transformed from unbelieving into believing.
"Help My Unbelief!"
"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Mark 9:24
God is saying, "Okay, I will. I will help your unbelief. Now, reach out, stretch out and touch Me. I will meet you and I will reassure you." Beloved, this is the longing of the Lord's heart. He desperately wants us to take Him at His word with confidence and conviction. All that He is and all that He has is available to us. He held nothing back, not even to the point of death.
Thomas reached out an unbelieving hand and an exchange took place. Eight is the number of new beginnings and that day Thomas had a new beginning and cried, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). Everything that Jesus had spoken in the years they walked together suddenly fired from his head into his heart and the dots were connected. At that moment in time, all things became possible to Thomas.
The invitation remains for us today. We can enter into this by stretching out our imagination and willfully, perhaps even forcefully, casting down everything - every thought, word, and deed that exalts itself against the full knowledge of God.
Stretch out and touch the arm of the Lord that has been revealed. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. As we touch Him today, we touch eternity past, present and future. We touch the full truth and full power of God. All things are possible with God; all things are all things.
Let's dare to enlarge our imagination and dare to dream, keeping in mind what the Amplified Bible says in Ephesians 3:20-21, that He is "...able to (carry out His purpose and) do super-abundantly, far over and above all that we (dare) ask or think (infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams) – to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it)."
Tiffany Ann Lewis
Dancing with the Flame of the Lord Ministries
Email: tiffanyann@tiffanyannlewis.com
About Tiffany:
Tiffany Ann Lewis is a prophetic worship leader and speaker whose heart has been passionately awakened by a God who sees us in our shortcomings and loves us in spite of it all (Ezekiel 16). It is this message of Hope - God's burning love for humanity - that she desires to share through word or song wherever she goes. Tiffany Ann has been ministering for over 10 years in prophetic worship throughout the Body of Christ. She worships with her family at Northway Church in Malta, New York, where she serves on the worship team.
