Episode 2

Opening Remark: What is Himpossible Thinking? To this topic we now turn to.

Himpossible Thinking

Before we define and describe what Himpossible Thinking is all about, we need to answer the question, “Why are humans so prone to negativity?” Indeed, why is there a human tendency to reject what is positive and embrace what is negative? There are two sources that can provide an answer: the Bible and Psychology.

The biblical answer is that human beings have a tendency to be negative, selfish, and unforgiving—in other words, to sin—because the heart of the matter is always the matter of the heart. This human depravity, or the tendency to sin, was true of the first couple in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 2–3). Hence, we are born with a contaminated and polluted nature.

The field of Psychology, on the other hand, attributes our negative attitude to our childhood experiences and upbringing. Painful experiences and troubling childhood memories can continue to affect our actions and attitudes throughout our lives even when we reach adulthood. This is what the famous psychologist W. Hugh Missildine insightfully remarked,

The child you once were continues to survive inside your adult shell…  Whether we like it or not, we are simultaneously the child we once were, who lives in emotional atmosphere of the past and often interferes in the present, an adult who tries to forget the past and live wholly in the present. The child you once were can balk or frustrate your adult satisfactions, embarrass and harass you, make you sick—or enrich your life.”

In other words, all of us carry with us excess baggage from our childhood which affects us emotionally, socially, spiritually, and intellectually. When distressed, threatened, or pressured—our childish tendencies surface. On occasion, we can display adult behaviour with childish tendencies.

The way we relate to our parents can affect us even when we become adults especially when it comes to emotional support. However, to blame our parents and others for failures and defeats is not the best way to deal with our problems or break childhood bondages. We can choose to remain where we are or choose to learn to overcome our defeats. It has also been said that our childhood experiences (good or bad) are not completely erased. Importantly, how we deal with our past affects how we live in the present. The solution is to “understand who we are and, with the help of Jesus Christ, become free of any damaging results from our past.”

We are the sum total of our past. We carry excess baggage (negative experiences). The moment we experience something (good or bad), it becomes part of our life, stored up as past experience. Past experiences cause us to respond negatively or positively in a new way to present experiences. The more positive input we provide ourselves, the more they will be stored up in our memory bank which will help us to respond to situations positively. That is how we get rid of excess baggage.  A change in mind-set with new and positive vocabulary can help us to be more positive.

The ATM or automated teller machine is a wonderful and convenient machine that enables us to draw out money wherever and whenever we need it. However, there is one problem. We are not able to draw any money if we forget the PIN number. When that happens, things will not work and we get frustrated and irritated. In the same way, there is a PIN number or a password that gives you access to power for daily living, spiritual realities, and victories: Himpossible.

Himpossible Thinker and Himpossible Thinking

Allow me to describe a Himpossible Thinker. First, a Himpossible Thinker is someone who acknowledges the existence of God. You can’t be a Himpossible Thinker if you deny or reject his existence. The word Himpossible becomes meaningless.

Second, a Himpossible Thinker believes the Bible is the Word of God. Whatever it says is true. The Bible says that God is gracious, great, and good. It is all true.

Third, a Himpossible Thinker conforms his life to God’s will by applying God’s Word to his life. He believes that whatever God says in his word will come to pass. God will always keep his promise because nothing is impossible for him. He will do it in his own time and own way, according to his perfect will and purpose. Therefore, a Himpossible Thinker is willing to commit himself to trusting and obeying God. The God of the Bible specialises in “impossibilities.” Impossibility becomes possibility when we factor in God (Luke 1:37).

Therefore, Himpossible Thinking sees things from God’s perspective. It views crisis as a faith builder for the future and believes that what God has promised, He will fulfil; what He said, He will accomplish. God can be trusted to fulfil his promises. To put it in another way, “God says it; I believe it, and that settles it!”

Himpossible Thinking is being fully persuaded that partnership with God can produce miracles. “Then he [Jesus] touched their eyes and said, ‘Because of your faith it will happen.’ And suddenly they could see!” (Matthew 9:29–30). The keywords here are, “Because of your faith it will happen.” An older translation renders it, “According to your faith let it be done to you.”

Himpossible Thinking is an act of positive expectation. It is an attitude of confidence based on God’s Word and not human imagination. It seeks to avoid the negative and apply the positive. It is not a desire or wish, hoping for and wanting something to take place. Neither is it an attempt to psyche oneself up or deny spiritual realities. These may be expressions of hope but not Himpossible Thinking.

The Bible calls Himpossible Thinking by one word: faith. Here are two translations of Hebrews 11:1.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (NRSV)

Now faith is the assurance [title deed, confirmation] of things hoped for [divinely guaranteed], and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. (AMP)

When it comes right down to how God interacts with humanity, we see that our faith is the key. Faith in God is the basic element that enables us to acknowledge and revere his absolute existence and divine presence. Faith is indispensable in pleasing God.

The Himpossible Thinker says, “Good Morning, Lord!”

The Impossible Thinker says, “Good Lord! What a morning!”

According to Lionel Tiger, research has shown that optimism and positive expectation creates endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are chemicals that reduce pain and produce a feeling of well-being.

I’ve lost twenty pounds in two months

because of your accusation.
My bones are brittle as dry sticks

because of my sin.
I’m swamped by my bad behavior,

collapsed under gunnysacks of guilt.

The cuts in my flesh stink and grow maggots

because I’ve lived so badly.
And now I’m flat on my face

feeling sorry for myself morning to

night.
All my insides are on fire,

my body is a wreck.
I’m on my last legs; I’ve had it—

my life is a vomit of groans. 

                      (Psalm 38:4–6 MSG)

A Himpossible Thinker can say with the apostle Paul, “And it is for this reason that I suffer these things. But I am still full of confidence, because I know whom I have trusted, and I am sure that he is able to keep safe until that day what he has entrusted to me” (2 Timothy 1:12).

When faced with a mountain,

I will not quit!

I will keep on striving

until I climb over,

find a pass through,

tunnel underneath–

or simply stay and turn the mountain into a goldmine with God’s help. (Robert H. Schuller) 

Himpossible Thinkers are “wow” thinkers vis-à-vis Impossible Thinkers who are “oops” thinkers! They get excited about new ideas. They subscribe to the beauty of balance. Every end is a new beginning. Breakthroughs are possible; dreams can come true. Success is possible! Positive words like optimism, enthusiasm, and faith are contagious. Every problem holds a possibility.  Don’t let negative thinking kill positive potential. Let it challenge you. Scars can turn into stars, adversity into adventure.

Summary

So why strive to be a Himpossible Thinker?

• With God, nothing is impossible
• Today is not yesterday
• Tomorrow the sun will rise again
• There are potential possibilities in every problem
• You plus God can make a majority
• Failure is not final, a friend not a foe, and setbacks are temporary
• Every end is a new beginning
• Every day begins with new possibilities.

Here is a story that illustrates perfectly what a Himpossible Thinker does when he is down and out.

Once upon a time, a young donkey asked his grandfather, “How do I grow up to be just like you?” “Oh, that’s simple,” the elder donkey said. “All you have to do is remember to shake it off and step up.” “What does that mean?” asked the youngster. Then grandfather replied, “Let me tell you a story.

Once, when I was your age, I was out walking. I wasn’t paying attention and fell deep into an abandoned well. I started braying and braying. Finally, and old farmer came by and saw me. I was scared to death. But then he left. I stayed in the well all night.

The next morning he came with a whole group of people, and they looked down at me. Some of them even laughed. Then the old farmer said, ‘The well’s abandoned and that donkey isn’t worth saving, so let’s get to work.’ And believe it or not, they started to shovel dirt into the well.

Well, I panicked. I was going to be buried alive!

After the first shovelfuls of dirt came down on me, I realized something. Every time dirt landed on my back, I could shake it off and step up! They kept shoveling, and I kept shaking it off and stepping up. This went on for some time.

‘Shake it off and step up . . . shake it off and step up,’ I kept repeating to myself for encouragement. I fought the panic by shaking it off and stepping up.  And it wasn’t long before I stepped out of the well, exhausted but triumphant.

So no matter how difficult the situation, no matter how bad things get, no matter how much dirt gets dumped on you, just remember—shake it off and step up.” (1892 words)

Discussion Questions

1. What strikes you about the definition of Himpossible?
2. What are some differences between impossible thinker and Himpossible thinker?
3. Are you an impossible thinker or Himpossible thinker? Why?