Greater In You

Written on 06/02/2021
Christian Dunn

Verse: 1 John 4:4-6


The world can feel so overwhelming sometimes can't it? And especially this year! Relationships have been harder than ever to navigate. Discouragement has been difficult to avoid. Even figuring out what is true has been elusive.

The world is so full of brokenness. I remember growing up we'd watch the "nightly news" as a family during dinner sometimes. And it was always the same: someone's house burned down, someone else got murdered, and someone got robbed. The news was always bad. And it hasn't really changed. When I read the news today it's about fighting, division, pain, loss, and fear. Lots and lots of fear.

There are times when the reality of this fallen world we live in can feel like too much to handle. It squeezes in on you emotionally like a vice, and makes you want to give up. It makes you despair or feel discouraged, or even doubt God.

Jesus tried to prepare us for this when he said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33). Notice where we find our peace: in him. "In the world" what do we find? Trouble. But "in him" we find peace. Why? In the middle of the storm, he is there to hold us. In the middle of the confusion, he is there to speak truth to us. In the middle of the grief, he is there to comfort us.

This is why John says confidently that as followers of Jesus we have "overcome" because "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." Hear this today. Let it sink in. Read it multiple times to yourself. Close your eyes and take a breath and roll that verse around in your head. The one who is in you is greater. The one who is in you is greater. This is truth. This is what your soul needs to hear today.

If you are battling fear, discouragement, or despair in this world, look to the one who has already overcome it. Find your peace in him and take heart that the one in you is greater. He is stronger, more capable, wiser, more powerful, and he is here for you. In the end, the true comfort isn't that this world will finally be a safe and wonderful place, but that in Christ we have found the one who gives us the peace we long for in the midst of the storm.

I pray that you would draw near to me Lord. Let me know your presence and your comfort today. Encourage my heart and my soul with your strength.