By Georgeann (Gigi) McCrary

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. I John 4:4.

During my childhood, I attended a small African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church. Most of the members were related in some way so I was loved, encouraged, and sometimes even corrected by my extended family.

Each year the church members would attend the annual A.M.E. conference to find out if the current pastor would be returning for another term, or if the pastoral baton would be passed to someone new. One particular year our church received the news that a female pastor was appointed to our congregation. Female pastors were rare then. This was the first one that I had met. I was in my teens at the time, so I had not yet experienced much.

When the new pastor arrived, she was delightfully different. She was nurturing, encouraging and sowed positive seeds of the Word into the lives of the youth. The pastor even presented Bibles to us when we graduated from high school. Interestingly, I still have and use that Bible today, although it is quite worn and tattered. What I remember most about this woman of God is that she would have the youth of the church recite, “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” At the time, I do not think any of us realized that she was planting the seeds of the Word in our hearts. Initially we would stand and say the words begrudgingly and lacking enthusiasm, not understanding what we were saying and definitely not comprehending the power that we professed to have inside of us.

Those teenage years got rough at times. When opposition reared its ugly head, I found myself saying, “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” When I was having difficulty on an exam, I found myself mumbling that scripture. Frankly, I was saying those potent words often.

At present, I still speak those words that were planted in my heart long ago. The word of God had not only been planted, it had taken root. Read the Word. Confess the Word. Plant it deep within your heart for it will spring forth at the precise moment that you need it. Utilize that God Power within to deal with those worldly things without. Remember: I have the Power and you have the Power. For greater is He that is in you and me than he that is in the world.

Gigi