Many think that God is at a distance from us.

Many think that sometimes He hears us and sometimes not.

Many think that sometimes He sees us and sometimes not.

BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS, the mystery of Christ IN US, the hope of glory has been revealed.

“HE decided to make known to them HIS blessing to the nations; the glorious riches of this mystery is the INDWELLING of the Anointed IN YOU! The very hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27 VOICE)

The Passion Translation says, “LIVING WITHIN YOU IS THE CHRIST Who floods you with the expectation of glory! This mystery of Christ, embedded within us, becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for His people, and God wants everyone to know it!”

With the uncertainties that are going on around us, let alone around the world, it is inevitable for us not to be shaken. This is most likely because when we put our focus on the things that are seen, we limit ourselves within the boundaries of what we can do. But, His Word says, we are to “feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill our thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.” (Colossians 3:2 TPT), for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

We are to be fully persuaded that in Christ alone we are overcomers and more than conquerors because greater is He Who is IN US than he that is in the world.  That speaks of The Indwelling. We are not fashioned to be afraid.  Instead, we are called to know that we have WITHIN US the One Who is greater than any other thing that is in the world.  We are living in such a time as this where it is imperative for You and I to know that Jesus was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. His Name is the Word of God. (Revelation 19:13) and “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (Romans 10:8 NKJV).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5)

Jesus Christ came to pay the price at the cross, with His suffering, death and resurrection, so that He can NOW live within us. His incarnation was purposeful. Christ was born so that you and I can be invited into a new life. He said, “I came that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

We have a progressive revelation on what our life in Christ is all about and it is by grace through faith that we tap into the elevation of the truth revealed to us and in us. He takes us from strength to strength, from line upon line, from precept upon precept, from faith to faith, from glory to glory. The increase of His Kingdom knows no end and this includes our increase in revelatory knowledge and understanding of what it means to have Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Have you ever tried to break a bad habit on your own? Oh yes, I have, and I found out that when I tried to stop it by sheer willpower, I saw improvement for a while, and then bounced back to square one. And yes, it was a journey full of frustrations. The change was temporary because I did it on my own. I knew nothing about “Christ in me, the hope of glory.” My mind was set on, “If there’s a will, there’s a way!” Hmmm … maybe to some extent … to doing something that may seem doable on our own. But, when it comes to breaking a bad habit, bondage or addiction to any kind, it takes more than our will. It is making His will be done on earth in our lives as it is in heaven is what brings our breakthroughs, and this is only made possible when we know The Truth for it is the knowledge of the Truth is what sets us free.

What then is The Truth? Or shall I say, Who is The Truth? Jesus said, ” I Am The Way, THE TRUTH, and The Life.” (John 14:6) If Jesus is The Truth and Jesus is The Word of God, then, The Word of God is The Truth. When we know The Truth Who is Jesus, Who is the Word of God, then The Truth sets us FREE. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

A habit left in our own hands to break is tiring, frustrating until quitting becomes our only option. But God is RICH in mercy and abounding in His love for us. When we turn our lives over to Him and learn about His grace, His unmerited, unearned and undeserved favor towards us, He empowers us to live anew. It does not matter much what we go through when we know the God is with us, for us and IN US for He is more than a million times greater than the opposition of addiction that is against us. Ohh, if by grace of God we can only see that the blessings of God’s divine power dwelling in us with such sweetness, whispering to us with His still small voice, “Be still, My child. All is well.” We, then can be still and see the salvation of the Lord.

Think with me on this. What would happen to us if we learned and have known this secret that everything is within our reach because the One Who is the Creator of everything is within us? Surely the Lord is now revealing this to us. He wants us to see that every obstacle can be removed because of He is taking up residence in us. In this world we have trials, difficulties, temptations and perplexities coming along our path, but Jesus said that in Him we have PERFECT PEACE because He has overcome the world. He deprived it of its power to harm us and have conquered it for us. The temptations we face will be nothing new, but God is faithful, and He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can handle. He always provides a way of escape so that we will be able to endure and keep moving forward. It is He Who will bring us through.

The verse below has been my life-turning one. When the light of this Word, breathed by the Spirit of God was unveiled before me, in an instant, the burden of breaking a habit on my own was splintered and liberation was at hand. Having a revelation of His great love for us by sending us Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, I have been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our Master, our Messiah, and by our God present IN US, the Spirit. For me, He is The Way out Who gave me a new life in Him.

“Do you need reminding that the unjust have no share in the blessings of the kingdom of God? Do not be misled. A lot of people stand to inherit nothing of God’s coming kingdom, including those whose lives are defined by sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, sexual deviancy, theft, greed, drunkenness, slander, and swindling.  Some of you used to live in these ways, but you are different now; you have been washed clean, set apart, restored, and set on the right path in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Anointed, by the Spirit of our living God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 VOICE)

When our burden is lifted because we cast it upon the Lord, our perception in life changes and we get transformed as our minds are powerfully influenced by the power of His spoken Word. Because it is not by our sheer will that brought deliverance to us but the Word of God, we are also sustained by the Word of His power.

How awesome it is to think that God created the world by speaking the Word it to existence? But it is equally beyond comprehension to think of how He is sustaining the universe with His powerful Word. If He is able to do that, don’t you think He can also uphold and sustain our deliverance from bad habits? Hmmm …

It’s about time to redirect our attention and affection to the One Who is the author and finisher of our faith. It is time to bombard ourselves with the truth of God’s Word and let it not depart out of our mouths, but we shall meditate on it day and night, that we may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then we shall make our way prosperous, and then we shall deal wisely and have good success. It is time to pour out our hearts to God in love until our very being, our whole self, desires Him. Our intimate relationship with Jesus changes our hearts’ desires and conforms them to be like His, perfect and pure. Perfect love means that Jesus has taken hold of our intentions, desires and thoughts and purified everything. This is how bad habits are broken without a possibility of resurrecting because the resurrection power of Christ is in us.

“Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.” (Romans 12:2 TPT)

When we receive the grace of God to do for us what we cannot do, we will experience effortless and permanent change on the inside, which in turn changes our actions on the outside. The change is from the inside-out. It is He Who removes our old want to’s and gives us new ones and empowers to carry them out. The indwelling of the Spirit of God and of the Son is He Who is all the while at work in us both to will and to do for His own pleasure, satisfaction and delight. It is not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of God.

When we welcome Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior into our hearts, He does not come to date us. No! He comes to inhabit us and when He does, gone are the days when we think He is far from us or He hears, sees, cares for us sometimes. Jesus promised, “Behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 AMPC)

He said, “Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).” (Jeremiah 33:3 AMPC).

Jesus answered, “If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.” (John 14:23 AMPC)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for never leaving me nor forsaking me, Thank You for Your loving outstretched arms ever ready to wrap them around me every time I come running toward You. Thank You, Jesus, for Your love that You came withholding nothing, washed me clean and made me worthy by the power of Your shed Blood at the cross to be Your dwelling place. Continue to reveal Yourself to me and in me that the life that I live in the flesh I live by faith in You Who loved me and gave Yourself to me. It is no longer I who live but You are living Your life in me and through me. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for being the Spring of Living Water within me welling up, flowing, bubbling continually, refreshing me, reviving me, revitalizing me, restoring me, strengthening me and empowering me to live the life that You called me to live and that is VICTORIOUSLY! Amen!

Photo Credits 📸 : Erik Quianzon