He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. (I John 4:4)
Isn’t it interesting how you can see your past in living color, but your future tends to appear in shades of grey? It’s so much easier to see what is behind you – where you have been and what you have done – than what is ahead of you. But as hard as it is to see what is ahead of you, it is even more difficult to see what is in you.
What is within you has no precedent. It is not in your past or your future; it is in Christ. The Spirit of Christ within you strengthens your inner being, and roots you and establishes you in love. The Spirit of Christ within you guides you into all truth, and causes you to cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit of Christ within you is the power that overcomes your past and establishes your future. The Spirit of Christ within you is greater than any power that is outside of you . . . powers that reside in the past, present, or future. The Spirit of Christ is greater than all!
Spiritual maturity is about learning to be governed by what is within, rather than what is without; spiritual maturity is about the precedence of the internal government of the Spirit. When the Spirit of God within you becomes the lens through which you perceive and understand all of life, then you can be said to be spiritually mature. Until then, we are tossed to and fro by every wind, determined by the externalities of our past, moved by the chaos of our present, threatened by the foreboding currents of our future.
God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in time of need. Therefore we will not be moved. He says, Be still and know that I am God. Not only do we know that he is God, but we are confident that he is in us. Great is the Holy One of Israel among us!
