Captured or Captivated?
Do you ever awaken with a sense of heaviness as you face the day? Various circumstances coincided for me recently and this became my experience. As I was asking God for wisdom, I viewed an excellent video discussion with Dr. Dallas Willard. Dr. Willard described how before rising from bed he mentally reviews “The Lords Prayer” or the 23rd Psalm, slowly and prayerfully.
Do you ever awaken with a sense of heaviness as you face the day? Various circumstances coincided for me recently and this became my experience. As I was asking God for wisdom, I viewed an excellent video discussion with Dr. Dallas Willard. Dr. Willard described how before rising from bed he mentally reviews “The Lords Prayer” or the 23rd Psalm, slowly and prayerfully. Jesus instructed his disciples to pray these words daily. Here is the Lord’s prayer from Matthew 6 from our Net Bible Translation:
Father in heaven, may your name be honored, may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Following that, in my bible study, we covered Genesis 3 and I was reminded of our true bitter enemy. Satan is against us and determined to sabotage the work of God in our lives in any way possible. It is easy (tempting) to focus only on the difficult and painful circumstances around us without raising our thoughts to consider the source of our discouragement. When was the last time you prayed that God would protect you from temptation and deliver you from the onslaughts of the evil one? Reviewing this prayer helped me put my challenges into better perspective and to start my day with confidence in the gracious protection of the Savior.
Instead of being captured by the enemy I become captivated by His grace and goodness. When my focus is drawn to the honor of His name and the purposes of His kingdom my emotions are quieted and my soul finds rest.
How about you today? Are you captured or captivated?
Gwynne Johnson
Gwynne Johnson currently serves on the Board of Entrust, Inc., an international education and training mission where she authored the Entrust curriculum, Developing a Discerning Heart. She recently served as Co-Chair of the training project, Christian Women in Partnership, Russia and as Senior Director of Women's Ministry at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas. Gwynne has a M.A. in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. She currently lives in Huntsville, Texas with her husband of 58 years, Don. She works part-time in her daughter and granddaughter's bakery "The Best Box Ever," where she gets paid in cookies.
