In today’s culture, we are consumed with the idea of ‘finding ourselves’.
The book industry is saturated with countless self-help books that claim to hold the secrets to self-discovery and reaching our full potential— yet they all seem to fall short. The problem is that we’re looking for the wrong thing, in the wrong place. We will never find our true potential within ourselves because true potential can only be found in God. Instead of desperately seeking to find ourselves, we should instead focus on finding and knowing the One who lives IN us!
So, if you have ever asked yourself the question, “Does God live inside us?”, the answer is YES!
Who has God created us to be?
Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they said daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask aims from those who entered the temple, who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And they took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them - walking, leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
These verses tell of a man who had had to beg throughout his whole life in order to survive. From birth until the time of his encounter with the disciples, his situation had never changed and as a result, he had reached the point of accepting begging as his ‘lot’ in life. Even though he sat daily outside a temple that was known to house the glory of God, the only thing he had learned to expect was a meagre sum of money donated by passers by who felt pity for him— enabling him to survive another day. The truth is that while we remain unaware of the miraculous power of God’s glory, we learn to accept and adapt to our environment. But when we learn to understand and access God’s glory, we step into a life of revelation, restoration and celebration!
The truth is that while we remain unaware of the miraculous power and Presence of God’s glory, we learn to accept and adapt to our environment. But when we learn to access God’s glory, we step into a life of revelation, restoration and celebration!
Sometimes we’re locked in ‘survival mode’ because we’ve been living with the same circumstances for far too long. God does not want us to merely survive, but wants us to thrive! We’re not supposed to just surrender to our environment and accept our so-called ‘lot’ in life. There is so much more to experience because of what we carry inside of us!
Expectation is what shifts things in our lives— what we expect is so often what we get. So perhaps the key to our breakthrough lies in having a greater expectation of how great our God is and what He can do in and through us as we step into His GLORY.
What power has God given us?
So often, in our humanity, we feel weak and powerless to change our circumstances and lives. After all, we are only human, right?
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like the fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.
While it is true that we are all imperfect and limited in our humanity, we actually house within us one of the greatest treasures of all— the Holy Spirit. It is Holy Spirit dwelling in us who brings the much-needed power and breakthrough, despite our natural fragility and imperfection. We are created in God’s image and the light of the Holy Spirit within us is meant to shine for all the world to see. The enemy, however, hates our brightness and relentlessly tries to tone us down by convincing us that we are far inferior and less powerful than who God has actually created us to be. Fortunately, the answer already lies within us! So take heart; we’re not operating under our own strength or power, but it’s the light that shines through us that brings breakthrough.
How incredible it is that God chooses to dwell inside of us and to work and shine through us!
So, who is God and what exactly do we have INSIDE of us?
God is truly amazing and often difficult to describe in simple words. His glory is His nature and character on display and when He lives in us, these same traits begin to shine out in our lives and tell the story of who our God is. Let’s look at just a few of His incredible character traits:
Hope!
And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,” says the Lord of hosts.
Friends, we carry the hope of the nations inside of us. God IS hope!
We are all born with a God-shaped space within us and some spend their entire lives searching in the wrong places for something to fill that space. But there is no greater joy, fulfilment or satisfaction to be experienced than receiving Jesus Christ into our lives. Every human being made in God’s image is searching to encounter Him—even if they don’t realise it. They are looking to find something greater than themselves—identity, meaning and purpose— and that is found in Christ alone. HE is the hope of all nations and when He resides in us, we hold that hope that the lost are so desperately seeking in dead-end places.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is one that we should never keep to ourselves. The light of His power and Presence resting in and on us is intended to be shared with others. Wherever we go, we carry the desire of the nations and this desire connects us all— regardless of culture, race or socio-economic background.
Spiritual LIFE!
And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of your sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.
While the blood pumping through our heart may be keeping our bodies alive, it is Jesus that keeps our spirits alive. It’s His Spirit—the Holy Spirit— that refreshes us, cleanses us and makes us new. It is His Spirit that gives us power over the works of the enemy and the authority to change atmospheres over cities and hearts. A Spirit-led life is a powerful and effective life well-lived for Kingdom purpose!
God IS life!
Resurrection power!
Because Holy Spirit lives in us, we have the power to command dead things to come back to life. Now, I don’t just mean literally dead people (although that certainly is possible as evident in the Bible) but all kinds of circumstances that outwardly appear to be dead. We all know of situations that bring us to a grinding stop in life and restoration seems impossible. Sometimes it’s a dead hope, a dead dream or a dead relationship, and all we want to do is give up. But this is where we tend to forget the power that we carry inside of us! We may be fragile clay jars, but what and Who we contain on the inside of that jar has the power to breathe life into dead situations!
We may be fragile clay jars, but what and Who we contain on the inside of that jar has the power to breathe life into dead situations!
When we focus on our weaknesses, we live with our weakness, but when we focus on the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us, we live in that power. We must realise the incomparable strength we carry. We are a reflection of our Creator and house His Spirit inside of us, and He is powerful beyond imagination! It is God who brings dead situations back to life again with just one word, and He lives in us. This means that the same authority over the dead that He carries, moves in and through us also— according to our FAITH!
God IS power!
Holiness
And having chosen them, he called them to come with him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself.
God IS holy, therefore, we are holy! It is not by our works that we are MADE holy, but simply because God has chosen us, called us and purified us with His Spirit to BE holy.
Love
But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Our Heavenly Father isn’t just loving— He IS love! And because He lives inside of us, there is an endless supply of love available to us at any time.
I’m sure we’ve all had moments where we have felt lonely, rejected, abandoned and unloved, but these are just human feelings/emotions that come and go. The truth is that we are deeply loved by God and that an abundance of love is always close by—inside us even— and ready to be poured out in and through our lives to heal brokenness. There is nothing we can do to stop God from loving us and His love is all around us even if we can’t feel it. God’s love is steadfast and everlasting, and all we need to do to feel it again is to turn back to Him and RECEIVE. If you don’t feel loved by God, you are simply not spending enough time with Him to receive the love that you need. He is ready and willing to pour out His love RIGHT NOW!
If you don’t feel loved by God, you are simply not spending enough time with Him to receive the love that you need. He is ready and willing to pour out His love RIGHT NOW!
Just as God loves us effortlessly, unconditionally and without limit, that same love can pour out of us and into others. He has called us to share this love with the world and not to keep it to ourselves. In fact, when we truly experience God’s love, first-hand, it naturally overflows out of us and cannot be contained.
Grace and mercy
The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
God is strong and powerful, but He is also merciful and kind. There is nothing that we can do that is beyond His forgiveness. While He hates sin, He never holds back His love and grace because of it. He is not a human father.
God also understands us. When Jesus came down to Earth in human form, He subjected himself to the same limitations and earthly sufferings that we also face. He experienced every kind of pain, grief and temptation, just as we do now, so there is no experience that He cannot empathise with.
Because He lives in us, we have the same power to be empathetic, gracious and merciful towards others. We have the power to forgive and to let go, no matter how much another person has hurt us. We forgive because He first forgave us.
God IS grace and mercy!
Goodness and faithfulness
O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
e is good—in every fibre of His being and in every way possible. We are not good by our own works, but because GOODNESS lives within us.
God only works for our good! He is our ultimate Protector. When He is on our side, who can be against us? He is constantly working on our behalf and will never let us down.
God IS goodness and faithfulness!
Wisdom
How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!
Living in a modern age, we have access to the wisdom of all who came before us. Countless generations have learned invaluable lessons to pass down to future generations, forming the foundations of what we know today. Yet as learned as we have become, there is an infinite level of knowledge that is still undiscovered.
God is omniscient! He has the absolute, perfect knowledge of ALL things. He knows everything that has happened and everything that will happen. He has never had to learn anything and will never forget anything. He has a perfect understanding of all things!
We may spend a whole lifetime trying to understand what He already knows, and some things may fall beyond our limits of understanding. But not only does God know these things, but He also operates with perfect wisdom to apply His knowledge according to His will.
This God lives in us, which means we also have access to His wisdom by His Spirit. With His help, we have the ability to discern what is good and of His will, and what isn’t, enabling us to make life (and NOT death) choices.
God IS wisdom.
Certainty
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
It is human nature to change. We are not the same as we were ten years ago, ten months ago or even ten days ago. As time passes, we grow older, wiser, and more ‘weathered’ by the experiences we have had along the way. We are literally changing every second that we breathe.
God, on the other hand, NEVER changes. The God that created the Universe is the same God that freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and is the same God that we walk with today. His promises are still the same, as is His eternal and unconditional love for us. While our power wanes as we get more and more weary, His power remains as strong as ever. Our God is steadfast in His nature and He is forever a strong tower that we can rely on.
We can depend upon His Spirit within us to act exactly as He has promised He would, every time and this brings us peace.
God IS unchanging.
Limitless power
Now to Him Who, by the power that is at work within us, is able to do superabundantly, far over and above all that we ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams].
God is omnipotent, having limitless power, love, wisdom and grace. There is no limit to what He can do and there is no limit to what He can do THROUGH US. The only limit we must live with is that which we ACCEPT in our lives.
There is no limit to what God can do and there is no limit to what He can do THROUGH US. The only limit we must live with is that which we ACCEPT in our lives.
When we start relying on our own power and capacity, that’s when we truly limit what we can achieve. Sometimes, when we’re faced with an obstacle, we hide from it because we believe that we cannot overcome it. And we are correct. But the truth is, true power does not come from us, but from the One who lives in us!
We have to tap into God’s power within us - not our flesh. Our flesh is imperfect and limited, but our God is perfect and unlimited. Through Him, nothing is impossible!
God has NO limits!
The More We Know Him, the More We Become Like Him
Just like the blind man, stationed by the gate called Beautiful, begging for the scraps of mercy, we can sometimes get so down-hearted by our circumstances that we settle for much less than we should. But God wants so much more than that for us. He sees beyond the imperfection and fragility of our flesh and sees only our purpose and potential in Him—the treasure He implanted within us before we were even in our mother’s womb.
He sees beyond the imperfection and fragility of our flesh and sees only our purpose and potential in Him—the treasure He deposited within us before we were even in our mother’s womb.
God lives inside us, along with his limitless power, love, mercy and goodness. But to truly access this, we have to know Him. As we worship God and draw closer to Him, we start to reflect His nature and truly shine His light in our lives. The more we come to know Him, intimately and intellectually, the more we start to sound like Him, look like Him and operate like Him. When we declare His Name, we stand in our position as sons and daughters, boldly administering His power and anointing to perform miracles, change cities and shift atmospheres!
So, friends, remember who lives in you! We will never achieve the plans He has for our lives in our own strength, but only as we recognise and release His power and glory through us!
