Captivating beauty has truly stopped me in my tracks. The reason it has stopped me in my tracks is because, as a woman I want to be loved, to be seen as lovely. But most of all to know if I am captivated or not. If you're a woman and you're reading this, then you know exactly what I mean. And if there are any men reading this blog post listen up woman just want to be loved and cherished, but they don’t have all the answers. So to say the least the thought of captivating beauty, has captured my attention. It has made me ponder what is captivating and what is not. It has made me question whether or not my faith in God was intentional or not. For instance there has been this conversation with God all week, “Who am I God?”. What do I have to offer that someone else can’t? Am I truly the woman you want me to be? This is a little nuts why would you pick a messy woman like me? Yet it is like when you have this tape of your worst fears on playback in your mind that you think about. Or it’s the insecurities that you hide behind. But God is trying to get your attention back and saying stop it! I’ve got you covered stop worrying so much, because you can rest in my unconditional love. That you can rest and be strengthened in his captivating love. So what I am learning this week is that when I rest in his captivating love I become captivated and undone. John and Stasi Eldredge say, “We fear that our deepest doubts about ourselves as women will be confirmed. Again. That we will hear yet again the message of our wounds, the piercing negative answers to our Question. That is why we can only risk stepping out when we are resting in the love of God. When we have received his verdict on our lives-that we are chosen and dearly loved. That he finds us captivating. Then we are free to offer.”(Eldredge, pg.214,2005). However, to do that I must hear His truth and be devoted to it. If I don’t distractions will come and life interruptions will come to take my captivated attention away from the truth. This is why I need to be strengthened through Christ, so that I can stay the distance in this walk of faith and to share it. But also so that I can learn what God finds so captivating about me. In Second Timothy it says,“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in sufferings as a good solider of Christ Jesus.”(2Timothy 2:1-3ESV). The thought of captivating God’s attention is far more mind blowing then being able to captivate someone’s attention on this earth. Just think about it God is far more powerful then anyone and is Holy. He is far more mighty then anyone on this earth as well. Yet there is always this longing or validation to have both God’s approval and even mans approval because we long to be loved. There is this deep longing for our fears to not be true and for our hearts to be seen alone. So what does this have to do with captivating God’s attention and the longing in our hearts to be loved. Well, for starters, God already finds us captivating because he created us, and because he came to save our lonely hearts with his captivating love. The point is he came to captivate us and save us from sin. He came so that we could be undone in his unconditional love. So I'll leave this post with a quote. Judah Smith says,“Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost. That’s what he told Zacchaeus. His passion was looking for lost, lonely souls and bringing them home to God. He didn’t look at lost people as interruptions. He didn’t wait for them to wander through the doors of his church and into his pastoral study. He went out into society and found them.”(Smith, pg.28,2013). References Eldredge, John &Stasi (2005) Captivating, Unveiling The Mystery Of A Woman’s Soul, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN, English Standard Version Study Bible (2008)Crossway Publishing, Wheaton, IL, Smith, Judah(2013) Jesus Is, Find A New Way To Be Human, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN,
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