If you’re a Christian or you see lots of Christian media, you’ve probably seen phrases like:
“Jesus > everything.” “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” “We all have a Jesus-sized hole in our hearts that only he can fill.”
Basically phrases saying Jesus is better than anything this world has to offer.
This is a great (and true!) concept, but what does this actually look like? In this post, I want to give you a glimpse into what this has meant for me.
As someone who grew up loving the Lord, I believed the lie that I didn’t have a “testimony”. I would hear these testimonies of people having a complete 180 from partying, drinking, smoking, etc. to following Jesus and always thought, “It wasn’t like that for me. Do I even have a testimony?”
One day, as I was having one of these thoughts, God revealed to me that I didn’t have the desire to party, drink, etc. because I knew it wasn’t going to fulfill me the way He did. From a young age, I was already fulfilled!
Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good. How happy is the person that takes refuge in Him.
As I’ve gone through public high school and now a secular college, I have learned that I have tasted and seen that God is good and I don’t have to taste the things of this world to know He is better.
And that is my testimony. A story of God’s consistency.
I’ve walked through some hard things, and God has consistently been there for me. He consistently forgives me when I mess up. He consistently reveals His unconditional love to me. He consistently blows me away with His peace. It truly surpasses my understanding.
Read: When all is changing, God is the same
Please don’t hear me saying I’m never tempted by the things this world offers. I’m still human and struggle with temptation. I’ve just seen time and time again that Jesus is better.
His peace surpasses the world’s artificial peace. His love is better than any love a human could ever give me. His ways are much better than my ways. His kindness is better than the world’s fake, passive kindness.
The fulfillment I have found in HIM is better than anything I could try to be fulfilled by in the world.
I think this quote from C.S. Lewis expresses this well:
“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” C.S. LEWIS
You can taste and see all the things of the world, or you can taste and see that THE LORD is good!
Many people expect kids that grew up as Christians to “go crazy” in college because of the transition from being sheltered to having the world at their fingertips.
For me, the truth of Jesus being better than anything became even more apparent when I went to college.
I saw people firsthand hate the way they felt after drinking, or getting into a toxic relationship, or even something as seemingly innocent as being entertained by trash television. Why would I crave feeling like that?
Nothing compares to Him.
I’ve tasted and I’ve seen- Jesus is the best there is.
My prayer is that this post brings HOPE and a DESIRE to taste the things of Jesus. To seek His will. To read His word. To worship Him. I pray that there is no feeling of shame or condemnation. Conviction (a feeling like you need to make a change) is different, but any feeling of shame is not from God.
I am praying for those battling temptation. You are not alone.
Choosing Jesus is not easy, but it is so, so good.
He’s the best. 🙂
Comments
One response to “Jesus is better.”
Emma this was such a good post! My favorite line was “Any feeling of shame is not from God”. I needed that reminder and I’m so thankful for you! As someone who struggles with temptation, this post made me feel not so alone ;).