Christ in You the Hope of Glory

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. —Colossians 1:27 NKJV

If you closely guard and treasure your alone times and your privacy, then the position of President of the United States just might not be the job for you.

The Secret Service was formed on July 5, 1865, as part of the Department of Treasury for the sole purpose of combating rampant counterfeiting that was racing across the nation. They moved into the field of presidential protective services under President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration after President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901. This protection begins from the moment the presidential hopeful enters the race and follows right through their term of office and on to their last breath. Wherever the president goes, the Secret Service goes. Whatever the president does, the Secret Service does. The president is never alone and has a 24/7, 365, everywhere, protective presence for life.

As believers, we, too, have a constant Presence. I grew up in a quaint New England Congregational Church where we had a ritual weekly responsive: “The Lord be with you.” “And with you also.” As believers, we make it a frequent part of our prayers for others when they’re going through troubles or traveling. “Lord, please be with my loved one.”

God’s constant presence was promised by Jesus Himself when He told His disciples that He was going away:

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” —John 14:16-18

The One living and walking with them promised He would send a Helper. He would not leave them all alone but would come and live in them. He kept His Word! At Pentecost, He came through His Holy Spirit to all believers and permanently indwelled them. From that day forward, He comes and resides within every single person who confesses their sin, repents, and accepts Christ’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life. From that moment on, Christ is not just with us, but He is living in us forever. There is no place we can ever go that He is not there. Way better than the Secret Service!

Sometimes, that awareness of His constant presence might not be all that comfortable. There are things we’d really rather the Holy Spirit not see or know about. Maybe it’s that word we’ve just spoken, that sin we’re too busy enjoying for a season, that thought train running through our mind, or maybe even His particular calling on our life that we’re avoiding. Someone’s prayer for us in that moment or season just might be the catalyst for drawing us back into delighting in and leaning into His presence.

King David understood that very well when he was confronted with his sin with a local bathing beauty. Grieved to the core, he cried out all night, pleading with God not to leave him and not to remove His Holy Spirit from him (Psalm 51). That was not an unrealistic request. In Old Testament times, the Spirit came and went. He did not stay.

Throughout the New Testament, when the Holy Spirit had come and now does stay, the Apostle Paul often made, as part of his benedictions, that, “The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” “Grace be with you.” We all need to be reassured of God’s constant presence and His grace in our lives because life’s difficulties can cloud that sense of His presence. It can sometimes feel as if He’s left us all alone in the middle of our misery.

Isn’t that what we are really asking when we ask God to be “with” someone? It’s not that we doubt He is. We are asking for God to make that person so acutely aware of His presence with and in them that they have the strength, comfort, and power to push through the tough, overcome temptations, and heed His specific calling on their lives.

The Apostle Paul called it a mystery revealed to us, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Doesn’t it just boggle your mind to think that our Creator God, the perfect, pure, spotless, holy, all-powerful God, would want to come live, not just with us, but right inside us forever?! But He does, and He does. In fact, His very indwelling presence gives us the hope of glory, the hope of life in Heaven with Him one day.

Father, thank You for Your constant presence with and in me. Help me to always be tuned into Your presence. I don’t understand how You could or would want to come and live inside me, but out of Your great and inexplicable love and because You are the God of Your Word, You do. I love You, Lord!

Welcome Holy Spirit
Be here with Your presence
Fill me with Your power
Live inside of me.

You’re the Living Water
Never drying Fountain
Comforter and Counselor
Take complete control.

—Hilde M Bedsvaag ©1992

In Him,
Donna Perkins

Sweet Selah Ministries

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

 Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)

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