November 03, 2026 | Be Connected
The One Who is in You
Scripture: 1 John 4:4-6(NIV)
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
Devotional
The older I get the more I become like my father. When I glance in the mirror, I look like him. Lisa says my laugh sounds like him. I can only hope to love like him, for he was truly a man who poured out words and hugs and gifts of love. I guess you could say some of my father is in me.
Today’s Scripture reminds us that our Heavenly Father is also in us. Galatians 4:6 says, “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” Several other passages tell us that the Spirit of God dwells in us. We are his temple.
When we live, laugh and love, we do so as an expression of what is within us. If God is taking up most of the space, He pours out. If things that are not God garner most of our being, worldliness leaks out. The Bible says how we speak and what we treasure reveal the condition of our heart.
Modern spiritual practices often encourage people to meditate by emptying themselves. But I would challenge these rituals based in eastern religions. Rather, I recommend filling ourselves with the Word of God and allowing the Spirit of God to occupy the crevices of our lives. The goal is not being empty, but being filled.
Then with confidence we can claim the truth of this verse that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” A few verses later John writes, “everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). And Jesus Himself said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
There it is. The world will throw the kitchen sink at us. How do we overcome that? “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6).
What a blessing!
