Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge - My Review

Originally Posted at Bibliophile's Retreat by Melissa Meeks

I just finished reading Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. WOW! This book not only gets to the heart of what I often feel it reminds me that the only antidote to feeling alone, unlovable, unwanted and… is to find my answers in my Savior, Fiance, and Lord. It gives real life examples from the authors’ lives as well as other people. The Eldredges cover a lot of territory in these 200+ pages. They touch on issues of identity, Spiritual warfare, wounds from dysfunctional birth families and many other areas. This book only skims the surface in many areas as its main purpose is to help women see more clearly who God intended us to be in a general sense and for us as women to understand the role God designed men to play in our lives and us to play in theirs. I think this book could also help men to get a deeper glimpse at the things that we as women often keep buried between ourselves and hopefully God because we feel that the men just don’t get it.

Maybe they do, maybe they don’t but one of the points in the book is that we need to look to God, our Creator, for the true answer to our nagging questions regarding our worth as a man or a woman. The following quotes illustrate some of what the authors have to say on this topic.

”A man’s deepest question is, ‘Do I have what it takes?’…. A woman’s is, ‘Am I lovely?’….We can’t wait until we feel safe to love and invite…. God calls us to trust Him and offer our true selves…. He wants us to entice, allure and invite others to Jesus by reflecting his glory in our lives. He will give no guarantee that others will respond well…. God’s invitation is to bring our sorrow to Him. To keep our hearts open and alive, and find refuge and healing in His love."

This book also reminds the reader that God is ultimately the source of validation and fulfillment that we try so hard to find elsewhere. If our focus is on Him and the relationship He desires with us and built us to desire with Him then many of those feelings will be eliminated.

There is so much more to this book and it has created a hunger and thirst in me to pursue the more intimate relationship with my Lord that I have been neglecting. I would recommend this book wholeheartedly. I can’t even begin to put down here all the gems and wealth the authors have managed to fit into this short span of pages. Read Captivating to get the full picture of what these authors have to say and how it can be applied to your own life.

Captivating is available at CBD, Barnes and Noble or see Ransomed Heart Ministries Website Store for this and other books and resources on similar themes.