Ezekiel 8:7-12 says, “7And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. 8Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. 9And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. 10So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. 11And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.”
God took Ezekiel to a place where the elders of Israel were committed idolatry in the sight of the LORD, and what he saw were the paintings and images on the wall. This would be the pornographic images of Ezekiel’s day. They were convinced that because it was in secret that it was hidden from God, and He did not notice. How badly they were mistaken! This leads to this astounding question, “What are the images painted on the walls of your mind?” The images you see are etched in your imaginations to the point that it moves you into action, which clouds any vision from God in the direction He is taking you.
If you are serious about the dreams of heaven, then you would not be so caught up in social media or doing whatever it took to attract the wrong person. Don’t simply fast (ex. a “phone” or “social media”) from something God called you to be delivered from, especially from a relationship you cannot handle. Would the dream of heaven already be fulfilled for your school if you would have taken just 2 hours you were on your phone Snap Chatting someone and prayed or actually worked towards your goal?
Even with dreams in your heart, if you have no work ethic, then success will never be sustaining. Some people inherit success, but can never sustain it because they are not disciplined and balanced enough to handle it. You cannot operate in busyness so much that priorities become misplaced, and you become distracted from your authentic purpose. In the same fashion, you cannot be so complacent to think that God is simply going to open every door for you and everything is going to go as smoothly and peacefully, just the way you want it. There is a start and a finish line, but there is some running you have to do in between! It is up to you to hear from the LORD, fill the gaps, and don’t despise the time between the beginning and the ending.
In 2009, Sports Illustrated did a study of former NFL and NBA players. This is what the study showed: After only 2 years of retirement, 78 percent of NFL players were either broke or struggling financially. Within 5 years of retirement, 60 percent of NBA players are broke (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tyson-hartnett/why-athletes-go-broke-and_b_6812864.html). With no management and investment knowledge and skills, it is easy to misuse, waste and not sustain what you have obtained!
Also, operating in a gift without the fear of the LORD is reckless and destructive. Living in the fear of man will strip you of fulfilling the potential of the kingdom in your heart. You cannot fear both God and man. They are complete opposites. You will do one or the other.
If you are battling with your imagination, here are the keys to deliverance:
1) Face It – Don’t blame it on anyone or anything else, but admit your failures.
2) Trace It – Get to the source and root of your conflict.
3) Erase It – Asking for forgiveness is the key to erasing it from your memory.
4) Replace It – Make fresh memories and build new relationships.
If it is words, it is an apology. If it is an action, it is repentance.
Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”