February 7 - 1 John 4:4

February 7, 2024
I John 4:4

1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

As a very old man, the Apostle John was writing to those whom he had ministered to over the decades, calling his flock - “little children.” Considering them like his little children, these were the believers at the Church at Ephesus at the close of the 1^st century. We too, as believers in the Church can apply this scripture to our lives as well.

As believers in Christ Jesus, we are of God, Who is our heavenly Father. We belong to the Family of God – the Kingdom of God. As such, the Kingdom of God lives within us because the Godhead, through the power of the Holy Spirit lives within our spirit. If we stop to meditate on what that means, we begin to realize that God, through Christ, put within us the Holy Spirit to comfort, guide, guide, instruct, and empower us for anything and everything that we encounter in our lives here on earth.

Who then is he who is in the world? It could be flesh and blood, the evil powers behind the flesh and blood, or even situations that beset us in life. In other words, there is no man or demon or situation in life that can overtake us because we have someone greater, meaning the Holy Spirit, living within us to comfort, guide, instruct and empower whatever we encounter in life.

How do we get that truth down deep into our heart to where we truly believe it? Let me tell you what I do!

Take God at His Word and meditate on His promises day and night (Josh 1:8). I like to journal and memorize God’s promises, for that slows down my mind to dissect what God is trying to tell me. When I am in the process of memorizing a scripture promise, I have it written down on 4 x 6 cards and pull it out many times a day and repeat it out loud, meditating on what those words are saying to me. I have been doing this for the last 40 plus years and still do it that way. In our days of smart phones, however, you may want to place your promises on your phone for ready-made access to that verse you are memorizing.

When I speak God's promise out loud, coming from my voice, I am first speaking it and then hearing it to understand it deeper and remember it longer. That's just the way God created us.  Remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Keep telling yourself outloud that “greater is the Holy Spirit within me than the powers of Satan who is in the world.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, place within me a holy boldness for you.
I DECLARE: Greater is He that is me than he that is in the world.

2 Tim 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of a sound mind.