Imagination: the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality (Webster Online).
I wish I knew something about Hebrew, so I could understand the word which Oswald translates "imagination" and most modern versions translate "mind." I was able to gather from my Hebrew dictionary that it is a different word than several others also translated "mind." Many of those words carry the sense of intellect, feelings or will while this word has earthier origins and relates to something framed, fashioned or formed, like pottery. The connotation is organic and active -- not staid and passive -- and Oswald echoes that throughout today's reading: Put a stiletto in the place where you have gone to sleep. Provoke yourself. Bring every thought into captivity.
The Amplified Bible translates Isaiah 26:3 like this: "You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind (both its inclination and its character) is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You."
I wonder if translators shied away from the word "imagination" because of its association with make-believe. I confess that initially I wondered if Oswald was encouraging me to visualize God or visualize myself in the presence of God, but that seemed inconsistent with what I know of Oswald. The word "mind," however, seems too narrow and passive in its meaning. Oswald conveys an active pursuit that engages all the senses in this pushing and pulling and shaping toward God:
"Learn to associate ideas worthy of God with all that happens in Nature -- the sunrises and the sunsets, the sun and the stars, the changing seasons, and your imagination will never be at the mercy of your impulses, but will always be at the service of God."
"Your imagination will not be starved any longer, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright."
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