Drawn by His Love

by Cindi McMenamin @CindiMcMenamin

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them; and I will raise him up on the last day.                                                                                              John 6:44 NIV

Have you ever thought about the day that God started calling you to Himself?

Sandi did. And her story brought tears to my eyes.

Having grown up with an alcoholic father who made no room in their home for a Supreme Being, religion – even talk of it – was out of the question. Sandi couldn’t even own a Bible, for fear of her father’s rage. Yet God continued to bring people into Sandi’s life who told her about Jesus, and eventually, she surrendered her life to Him.

Today, Sandi is married to the man who first told her about Jesus. And she is now raising their children in the knowledge of God and the understanding of who Jesus is.

Although God wasn’t “allowed” in Sandi’s home while she was growing up, she realizes now that He was there, all those years, drawing her toward Himself.

Hearing Sandi’s story made me think of my own. I used to think I had made a great decision as a young child to follow Jesus and learn of His ways. Smart kid that I was, I thought. But it was no doing of my own. And the more I live life, and the more I look at the Word of God, the more convinced I am of that.

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you,” Jesus told His disciples in John 15:16 (NIV).

I don’t have it in me to choose Him. And Psalm 14:3 says “No one does good, not even one” (NIV). So I’m so glad He extended His love far enough to reach even me.

Were it not for His pursuing love, His pulling at my heartstrings, His making me aware of my need for Him, who knows where I would be today?

When we remember where we were when He drew us toward Himself, what we were doing when His lovingkindness began to call, what pit we were in when He pulled us out, we stand in awe of the destiny from which He rescued us.

Thank you, God, that your Word says “I loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness” (Jeremiah 31:3, NASB). When I begin to feel I’m unworthy, unnoticed or unloved by anyone, remind me that the God of the Universe called me by name and drew me to Himself. That is amazing love. And that love is mine.

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Thoughts on being drawn by God’s love from @CindiMcMenamin on @AriseDailyDevo (Click to Tweet)

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is an award-winning writer and national speaker who helps women strengthen their relationship with God and others. She is the author of 17 books including her best-selling When Women Walk Alone (more than 130,000 copies sold), When God Pursues a Woman’s Heart, When God Sees Your Tears, and Drama Free: Finding Peace When Emotions Overwhelm You. For more on her books and resources to strengthen your soul, marriage, and parenting, or for more information on her coaching services to help you write the book on your heart, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.