A captivated heart

“Reign in me, Sovereign Lord, reign in me… Captivate my heart; let your Kingdom come… Establish there your throne; let your will be done…”

We sang this chorus last week and it has stayed in me for days. What is a captivated heart? We see them often – the doting grandparents, delighting in their sweet grandchild – a man with his Harley-Davidson or Jaguar – a sportsman who is totally focused on the game… We were clearly created to be ‘captivated’ by something. It makes us come alive. It brings us great delight. It concentrates our mind. It simplifies our choices. Another word like it would be ‘obsessed’ – so hooked into something that it is all we think about or talk about. We would consider that unhealthy or unbalanced, or even addicted. Food, caffeine, alcohol, fitness, sport, technology, perfectionism…

A heart captivated by God is actually a beautiful thing – and we were designed to be like this. It is how his life flows into us. Think of the Vine and the branches. Branches are only alive if they are ‘hooked into’ the vine, and only produce fruit as they draw from the vine. We too often feel or think of ourselves as separate to Him, and needing to keep doing things to ‘make him real’ to us. The new life we received when we gave our whole lives over to him is actually Jesus in us, loving the Father and receiving from the Spirit. HE lives a life captivated by the Father’s love. So let us ask him to share with us his ‘captivated heart’ that is completely focussed on pleasing the Father and receiving all he needs from him. When this love pervades our mind and heart and will and emotions – we will know what it is to be captivated by him.

We will find ourselves in a constant conversation with him – sometimes joyful and thankful, sometimes sharing our heartache. At other times delighting in the goodness in people all around us as he does, and getting a sense of what he wants us to do for him each day. Jesus said that our joy would be ‘full’, as we received his joy. (John 15:11) It is the joy of pleasing the Father and soaking up his love. Such is a captivated heart. May it be ours.