when captivity steals

How great it is to be
captivated by something you love.
To have a captive audience
when you need their attention.

But to become one...
a captive, in the truest sense;
when you had plans to move forward,
but the wheels on your dreams
came screeching to a halt.

Suddenly you are standing still,
the view much different...
confined,
restricted,
restrained.

Enslaved to a wilderness
where the pathway out
is difficult to determine.

These are the unexpected times.
These are the unplanned periods.

But God still knows,
still sees,
still hears,
still has us in His grasp.

And this, His message...
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
to all who were carried away captive...
Build houses and dwell in them;
plant gardens and eat their fruit.
Take wives and beget sons and daughters...
that you may be increased there,
and not diminished.
And seek the peace...
and pray to the Lord for it;
for in its peace you will have peace.
Jeremiah 29:4-7 NKJV

​Surprising as captivity is
and quickly as it can overwhelm us...
God does not plan for us
to cease from living during this time.

As a matter of fact,
His instruction is
that we actually increase
and become fruitful there,
carrying forward and living fully.
And that we seek Him and
pray for peace
in that very captive place.

He knows that this world
is not paved with perfect paths,
nor lined with layers of luck.

And when our social media persona
begins to peel back at the corners
showing a bit of who we really are...
the curtain falls and the show
is often over.

Captivity begins.
We have all been there,
or will certainly be.

So we might as well know
how to handle it.

God tells us...
settle in, you may just be there
for a while.

Sometimes it's until
we learn something in it.

Sometimes we are waiting
on others...
and we sure wish
they'd get it together!

Sometimes there is
no rhyme or reason
and we just get stuck,
captive to the darkness,
the problem,
the circumstance,
the lack.

But we are to be
reassured when
God tells us that He's got this.
And we need to know
that we are not alone.

Keep living.
Keep increasing.
Be fruitful.
And seek Him
while we pray for peace...
for in its peace you will have peace.

Will it be easy?
No.
But it will end.

For a few verses after
these instructions,
God gives us
the famous promise
which so many people quote...
I will visit you and
perform My good word toward you,
and cause you to return to this place.

For I know the thoughts that
I think toward you, says the Lord,
thoughts of peace and not of evil,
to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:10-11

Word of God
train me, today...
To know that You are with me always,
and will help me be fruitful and at peace.
To bring my thoughts captive to You,
​even when life is difficult and not as I plan.