The Greater in Me

“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” – 1 John 4:4

My heart stopped when the doctor showed me my CT scan result – a tumor 1.5 times the size of a tennis ball inside my chest. I suddenly felt so small; my life seemed to spiral out of control. What should I do? At that moment, I remembered the lesson I taught my daughter.

“I’m stupid!” my 7-year-old daughter grumbled as soon as she reached home from school. I had never taught her that word. When I asked her where she had learned it, she shared that a friend had told her that she was stupid because her Chinese result wasn’t that good. My daughter was upset that her friend didn’t want to stop saying those words even when she had told her friend to do so.

It reminded me how easy it is for children to be influenced and internalize a lie. I comforted her and tried to convince her it wasn’t true. “Yes, you weren’t born in a Chinese-speaking family, but God who lives in you will help you,” I explained to her.

She refused to believe it at first until I asked her who she trusted more – God, her dad, or her friend. My girl nodded in agreement, and I hugged her.

When we are faced with an uncomfortable situation, it is so easy for us to get drowned by the enemy’s voices, trying to weaken our spirit. However, we have a choice. We can either believe in the negative voice saying: there is nothing you can do… Or believe in God’s loving promise spoken through the Word.

The Bible clearly states that we are children of God, we are from God, and the One who is greater is in us (1 John 4:4). As such, when fighting negative voices gets tougher, we should proclaim the Truth even louder. It doesn’t matter if the situation is beyond our strength. God is still stronger.

As I was drafting this devotional, the tumor was beyond my control. But that’s not the end of this story. As His beloved child, I believed that God would never let something happen to me beyond His care. The tumor would bow under His authority, for He is greater than all.

My friend, in your battles, know your identity. Cherish the Word and His glory. You can still hope. You can still trust the One who lives in you. You are a child of God – and that’s what matters most.

God who lives in me is greater than my circumstances