Little children, you are from God and have overcome them.
For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
First John 4.4.
Now some translations like the one I just read
say you are from God,
and other more literal translations say you are of God,
and both are saying the same stunning thing.
You don't just belong to God like a possession on a shelf.
You are of him.
His life is now in you.
His spirit is joined with yours.
You are one with the God of the universe.
That oneness is not something that you earn
or achieve on your best day.
It's already true in Christ.
The moment you made Jesus your Lord,
Christ took up residence in you,
and because of that union,
he who is in you is greater
than anything on the outside of you,
greater than the diagnosis,
greater than the uncertainty,
greater than the fear that tries to wake you up
at 3 a.m. every night.
Those things are real, but they're not greater.
They're not greater than he who is in you,
and because they do not overpower him,
they will not overpower you.
Fear may show up.
We might feel fear.
There's no shame in that.
It just doesn't get to define you.
It doesn't get to tell you who you are
and what you're capable of because you are of God.
You're one with him, and his presence in you
is the most true thing about your life today.