God’s Drawing Power!

By Alexandra Copeland

Galatians 5:16(NLT) tells us, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” We all have a sinful nature. Romans 5:12 informs us that because of Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world, and sin is in the makeup of all humans born after Adam. Galatians 5:16 tells us that this sinful nature craves. To crave is to have a powerful desire for something. It’s where we see the development of things like addictions and obsessions. Once these habits become rooted in the psyche of a person, they can have a stronghold and bring tremendous misery, but all is not lost. God has the answer! He tells us that we if we let the Holy Spirit guide our lives, we will have the power to squash the cravings of the sinful behavior that harms us. This is good news indeed!

We need to be clear that it isn’t our power that gives us the strength to make it from day to day. God has given it to us through Jesus Christ. God’s Spirit lives within us because of Christ, and he helps us on the inside, where we need it most. Philippians 2:13 (NLT) tells us, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” You and I are not capable of doing the work that needs to be done in our lives. We’ve got too many wires and many of them are crossed in ways we’ve yet to know, but God knows every nook and cranny of our being. He knows where we need the most help. Our greatest responsibility as believers is to get out of our own way and let the Spirit be at work.

In John 12:32, Jesus Christ said, “If I am lifted up from the earth, I’ll draw all people to myself.” He let us know that there’s something baked in our makeup, something God created within us, that causes us to be attracted to Him. A huge problem for many of us is that we sense the missing piece, and it causes all sorts of problems and frustration. This missing piece is the space where the love of God should be, but instead of filling up on Him and all the extraordinary blessings He wants to lavish on our lives, many of us look to fill up on other things—sometimes very harmful things.

God’s love is the greatest power there is. 1John 4:8 tells us that anyone who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love. Verse 16 of this same chapter says that all who live in love live in God and God lives in them. This is an amazing reality! Yes, many of us have complex challenges in life, and some people have been dealing with them for years. We have entrenched issues that have progressed over time, and time is what it will take to work through them. God wants us to let Him take the lead, and He will guide us. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus Christ invites us to come to him with our heavy burdens. He can handle them and will give us rest for our souls.

No matter what we’re dealing with in life, God is drawing us. He wants us close to Him. He doesn’t want us tripping out in condemnation, trying to fix things ourselves, because we can’t do it. Heavenly Father knows what you’re dealing with, and He cares about you and wants the opportunity to come into your heart.

Jesus Christ knew that his death would plant a seed of love so incredibly tremendous that it would be like a magnet. It’s been over two thousand years since he walked the earth and we’re still being drawn to his love. Don’t continue to look for answers by trying to make your flesh perfect. It’s your soul that God is after. He wants you to experience the liberty that Christ has purchased for you. We can’t get it from the things we’re doing to intoxicate the flesh. We are spiritual beings, and we are created to feast on God’s love and thrive from His Spirit within. Let the Spirit guide your life, and you will grow to crave his presence and a deeper connection to God more than anything this world can offer.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.