by Dr. Johnnie Blount
One of the most familiar verses in Scripture is John 3:16, which speaks of God’s overwhelming love for the world—so great that He gave His only Son. Yet our Heavenly Father knows we cannot fully grasp the depth of His love for us. He loves us so deeply that He desired to come to earth to be with us.
One of the most powerful expressions of this desire is found in Exodus 25:8, where the Lord declares: “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” When we truly consider this verse, it’s mind-boggling to think that God loves mankind so much that He instructed Moses to prepare a place where He could come to earth and dwell with His people.
The God Who Chooses to Dwell Within Us
Sometimes we wonder if God has left or forsaken us. We need only remember that He now resides within us. What a God! What a Savior—that He would leave heaven to come to earth to be with His own! When we grasp this truth in our spirit, our lives change forever.
Understanding this reality gives us the same fearless confidence that David possessed when he faced Goliath. The Lord was with David, though not yet dwelling within him as the Holy Spirit dwells within us today. Yet David had such confidence in God’s presence that he was willing to appear foolish for God’s sake.
When David told King Saul how he had killed a bear and a lion while protecting his sheep, his testimony inspired the king to allow this young shepherd to face the legendary giant. Goliath was a seasoned gladiator who had sent hundreds of men to their deaths—a man who stood nearly ten feet tall and five feet wide.
Greater Faith for Greater Presence
If David’s experiences with wild animals gave him the confidence to know that the Lord was with him and could defeat Goliath, how much greater should our faith be today? We know that the Holy Spirit is not only with us but also lives within us.
Saul recognized from David’s testimony that the Lord was with him. Though the king hadn’t witnessed David’s victories over the animals, he could discern from David’s words and demeanor that the young man had a genuine relationship with God. This faith brought deliverance to all of Israel.
What about us as believers? When the world looks at us, can they see God in us through our testimony and the anointing upon our lives?
Intimacy Born from Fellowship
David didn’t have a church to attend or a Bible to read. He knew the Lord only through personal fellowship and familiarity. I often wonder about David’s conversations with God during those long nights watching over sheep in the darkness. What did the Lord say to David? What convinced this shepherd that God was so faithful that he would lay down his life for the sheep, just as Jesus later did for His sheep?
Somehow, David knew the Lord was with him even before he killed the bear and the lion. When we read David’s prayers and worship in the Psalms, we see his absolute confidence in the Lord, knowing that God was both for him and with him.
It still amazes me that David could declare to the Lord: “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay” (Psalm 16:10). How could David have known this except through intimate conversations with God? The Spirit of God had to reveal Himself to David, because no one could possess such knowledge unless it was divinely revealed.
Living as Kingdom Representatives
When people observe our lives, can they tell that the Lord is with us through our lifestyle and testimony? It’s essential that our lives represent the Kingdom of God so the world can see God in us and through us.
King Nebuchadnezzar recognized that God was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—not just through their words, but through their willingness to face the fiery furnace rather than compromise their beliefs. These three men had such a relationship with the Lord that their invisible God was more important to them than their fear of an earthly king and his threats. Their bond with God convinced them to be willing to die for their convictions.
Our Greater Advantage
Today, we have the Lord both with us and in us. We have access to Gospel preaching 24/7 through television, radio, and social media. Yet I must honestly say that I know very few Christians, ministers, apostles, or prophets who possess the same confidence in their Lord that these biblical patriarchs demonstrated.
It’s crucial that we get God’s Word into our hearts and minds so deeply that the Word becomes greater within us than our fears, sickness, or nightmares.
Confidence in the Word
My confidence has always rested in the Word of God itself. It is the Word that causes me to believe and trust in my Heavenly Father, whom I cannot see with my natural eyes.
In John 14:16-17, Jesus told His disciples that the Father would give them another Comforter who would abide with them forever—”even 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.”
The key phrase is “will be in you.” At that time, the Holy Spirit was only with them, not in them. Jesus had to become a Spirit in order to live within our spirit. He declared in verse 20: “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
Paul echoed this truth in 2 Corinthians 6:18: “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Our Unshakeable Foundation
Second Corinthians 6:16-18 fills me with confidence when Paul declares that God will not only live with us but in us, and walk among us, and we shall be His sons and daughters, and He will be a Father to us.
Friends, we have no insurmountable problems because our Father is our God and also our Lord and Savior. There is no one throughout the universe who is greater than He. When we truly understand that the Creator of heaven and earth has chosen to make His dwelling place within us, we can face any giant, any furnace, any challenge with the same confidence that carried David to victory and sustained the three Hebrew children in the fire.
The question remains: Does our life reflect this incredible reality? Can others see that the God of the universe lives within us? May we live in such a way that our testimony brings deliverance to others, just as David’s faith delivered a nation.