“The mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
—Colossians 1:26-27, NASB

Reflection:
As we begin to grow in the Lord, many of us try many things to draw closer to Him. We pray, read and memorize the Bible, give to the Lord, attend church faithfully, and witness to people. We do all we know to do because we desperately want intimacy with God.

Sometimes we think the key to intimacy with God must be found in a certain spiritual discipline. We increase our prayer time. We try harder. We speak to God longer. Then we wonder, perhaps we are talking to God too much? So, we begin to listen. Still, there are seasons when nothing different seems to be taking place. God’s presence can still seem far away. We may have had supernatural experiences with the Lord, yet not experience intimacy with Him on a daily basis. We desperately want intimacy with God, but we can begin to feel burned out in the pursuit.

Then the Lord brings us back to the truth: You’re looking for Him on the outside, but He is inside you. I want you to learn to sit before Him. Be still, and let go of everything in your life. I only want you to look to Him for one thing, the revelation that His Spirit is dwelling within you.

That word changes our entire perspective and outlook on life. Everything begins to change when the power of the Holy Spirit infuses our being. The revelation of God’s Spirit within us opens the door to greater intimacy with Him, enabling us to walk in greater power and authority. This reality strengthens us. Christ dwells in you.

The Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, has taken up residence in our lives as believers. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus lives within us. Paul reminds us of this when he writes of the mystery that has been hidden from past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints. Christ, Messiah, is in you – the hope of glory. And Jesus said God’s rule and reign is not somewhere out there. The kingdom of God is within you.

As new believers, we believe in a Jesus residing in heaven. But spiritual maturity takes place when we learn and come to experience that He is also within us.

This is why it is so important that we cultivate a sense of God’s presence within us, instead of always looking for Him somewhere outside ourselves. The Spirit of white life, the Holy Spirit, is given to each believer. God wants us to find the Spirit of life within us, not on the outside where darkness dwells. The Spirit of life gives us energy, power, victory, and peace.

We all need to be led by God’s indwelling Spirit rather than by the darkness of the world around us. Once we allow God’s Spirit to be our life force, we will enter into a rest in Him and a peace that surpasses all understanding. We will not have to struggle any longer, and we will learn to trust God, knowing that He is with us, going before us, working on our behalf, and helping us to be victorious.

Knowing that you do not have to control everything, that it does not all depend on you, and that you can trust God releases many burdens and produces rest. The Holy Spirit is the key to knowing that God is always with us. Without Him, we will quickly lose a sense of Him dwelling within. Knowing the reality of Jesus living within us gives us the security we need to break the strongholds of fear.

Application:

• Sit before the Lord today, be still, and look to Him for the revelation that His Spirit is dwelling within you.
• Release the burden of trying to control everything, trusting that God is with you, going before you, and working on your behalf.

Prayer:
Father God, open my heart to the reality that Christ dwells in me. Teach me to stop looking for You only on the outside, and to know Your Spirit within me. Help me to be still, let go of everything in my life, and receive the power of the Ruach HaKodesh. Let Your Spirit be my life force, giving me energy, power, victory, and peace. Break the strongholds of fear as I learn to trust that You are with me and working on my behalf. Amen.amiliar. Make me willing to take steps of faith when You have set up the situation. Let my life represent Your holiness, kindness, and compassion through Messiah Jesus. Amen.