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Begin with your identity
Developing Himpossible Thinking begins with knowing my identity. Who am I? I am a person created in the image of God. Therefore, I am a person of worth, value, and dignity. As a bearer of divine imprint, I am endowed with promising potential. This potential enables and empowers me to be a Himpossible Thinker. The Holy Spirit has endowed me with spiritual gifts to serve others for the common good. Scripture is the living account of God’s redemptive activity and the best guide to discern his will. In other words, I matter to God. My worth, value, and dignity do not depend on my performance, possession, and position and are not diminished by what others say. It is what God says about me that counts. And there will be times when I will feel crushed, stamped on, and beaten, but this should not diminish my self-worth.
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $50 note. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $50 note?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give it to one of you, but first let me do this.”
He proceeded to crumple the note up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air.
“Well,” he replied, “what if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty.
“Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air. “My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It is still worth $50.”
The moral of the story is this: No matter what has happened to you or what terrible things others might have said about you. There may be times in our lives when we feel rejected and treated like dirt by others. The good news is you will never lose your value, worth and dignity in God’s eyes. “To him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless.”
Follow through with action
Once the question of your identity is settled, the attitudes and actions that befit your identity need to be practiced.
Believe in God’s Word
The Bible is compared to literature in terms of language. It is an ancient document to scholars. But to Christians, it is Scripture, the Word of God. It is a “literary deposit of the action of God” and a “record of God’s intervention conveying the word of God” (to use A. M. Hunter’s phrase). Like a GPS, we use it for guidance to live in this disruptive world. In times of grief and calamity, it is used to comfort the bereaved and assure them of heaven.
Trust in God when you go through difficulties
“The Lord will make a way for you where no foot has been before; that which like a sea, threatens to drown you, shall be a highway for you to escape” (Charles Spurgeon). Our God is a God who not merely restores, but takes up our mistakes and follies into his plan for us and brings good out of them. If plan A fails, adopt plan B, which usually turns out to be better in one way or another.
I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea
Come drifting home with broken masts and sails
I will believe the Hand which never fails
For seeming evil worketh good for me
And though I weep because those sails are tattered
Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered: “I trust in Thee.”
I will not doubt, though all my prayers return
Unanswered from the still, white realm above
I will believe it is an all-wise love
Which has refused these things for which I yearn
And though at times I cannot keep from grieving
Yet the pure ardour of my fixed believing
Undimmed shall burn.
I will not doubt, though sorrows fall like rain
And troubles swarm like bees about a hiveI will believe the heights for which I strive
Are only reached by anguish and by pain
And though I groan and writhe beneath my crosses the greater gain.
I will not doubt. Well anchored is this faith
Like some staunch ship, my soul braves every gale so strong its course that it will not quail
To breast the mighty unknown sea of death
Oh, may I cry, though body parts with spirit
“I do not doubt,” so listening worlds may hear it with my last breath.
God sometimes shuts the door and shuts us in
That He may speak, perchance through grief or pain and softly, heart to heart, above the din. May tell some precious thought to us again. (Anonymous)
“God may send you some costly packages. Do not worry if they are done up in rough wrappings. You may be sure there are treasures of love, kindness, and wisdom hidden within. If you take what he sends and trust him for the goodness in it, even in the dark, you shall learn the meaning of the secrets of Providence.” How true.
Not until each loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the pattern
And explain the reason why
The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver’s skilful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
For the pattern when he planned.
Change your perspective
I once saw a poster that reads, “Two men looked out from the window bars, one saw the mud, the other saw stars.” Perspective counts, doesn’t it? What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? It is our attitude because “every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity,” says Sidlow Baxter. It is your attitude that determines your altitude.
A baby eagle became orphaned when something happened to his parents. He glided down to the ground from his nest but was not yet able to fly. A man picked him up. The man took him to a farmer and said, “This is a special kind of barnyard chicken that will grow up big.” The farmer said, “Don’t look like no barnyard chicken to me.” “Oh yes, it is. You will be glad to own it.” The farmer took the baby eagle and placed it with his chickens.
The baby eagle learned to imitate the chickens. He could scratch the ground for grubs and worms too. He grew up thinking he was a chicken.
Then one day, an eagle flew over the barnyard. The eagle looked up and wondered, “What kind of animal is that? How graceful, powerful, and free it is.” Then he asked another chicken, “What is that?” The chicken replied, “Oh, that is an eagle. But don’t worry yourself about that. You will never be able to fly like that.”
And the eagle went back to scratching the ground. He continued to behave like the chicken he thought he was. Finally he died, never knowing the grand life that could have been his.
Mind your words
Words can rip a nation apart and bring destruction. Sarcastic words have destroyed friendships. Unkind words have wrecked marriages. Do you know that interpersonal conflict of any kind always begins with words? Think about it: anger, unforgiving spirit, vendetta, enmity, hatred, and prejudice always begin with words. Just one inconsiderate or damaging word can destroy years of friendship and partnership. Careful words make for a careful life; careless talk may ruin everything (Proverbs 13:3 MSG). Indeed, words can bring life and blessing or death and destruction. No wonder a proverb says, “A six inch tongue can kill a man six foot tall!”
Just one positive word can make a difference in a person’s life. Just one word can change a person’s life for good. Uplifting words have changed the course of a society and people. Words of comfort can heal emotional wounds. Words of compassion can transform even the most hard-hearted person into a new person. Enchanting words make people fall in love and see stars. Words of hope lift people out of their state of depression. Delightful words put a smile on people’s faces. Words of affirmation can motivate students to excel in their school work and adults in their jobs. Positive words have changed human destiny. Words of encouragement have turned people from zeros to heroes. Gracious and kind words have helped families to stay intact and save broken relationships and marriages. Words can be used positively or negatively, constructively or destructively.
“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11). Do you know that in the Ancient Middle Eastern kingdom, there was a traditional custom where golden apples were placed in a silver filigree basket as a centre piece at the banqueting table? During the course of the feast, the silver basket would be passed around. Each guest would be invited to select one of those golden gleaming apples as a precious gift from the king. Similarly, aptly spoken words, or words that are spoken in the right circumstances can be as beautiful, delicious, and precious as one of those golden, gleaming apples. Therefore, Himpossible Thinkers use humorous words, encouraging words, positive words, affirmative words, inspiring words, healing words, uplifting words, hopeful words, and confidence-building words. (1579 words)
Closing remark: What characterizes an Himpossible Thinker? We will turn our attention in the next episode.
Discussion Questions