Better

Sometimes worthless questions pop into my head: “Would I have picked to have the struggles I do? Is struggling worth the lessons I’m learning?” Then I think: “It doesn’t really matter because life is what it is.” And then I remind myself God knows best.

One day while working on a book, I wrote this line: “Needing Christ isn’t easier, but it is better.” It was just a small sentence that fit nicely with the paragraph, but it stuck with me.

As the days went on, that line kept popping into my head. “Needing Christ isn’t easier, but it is better.”

I don’t always feel that way, but I do believe it. Needing Christ keeps me humble, because it shows me my need of a Savior. Need keeps me coming back to the throne of grace asking for mercy. Need reminds me who I am, who Christ is, and who He is transforming me into.

Through all this pondering, I realized that suffering doesn’t make me need Christ in the first place, rather it exposes my need of Him, and makes me need Him more.

My soul has required rescuing since the day I was conceived; and I’ve been in need of grace, guidance and most importantly, the Gospel, for all of my life.

I got saved because the truth of God’s Word softened my hard heart. His Word keeps my heart soft and it shows me more of who He is. He also uses both blessings and suffering to continue showing me my need of Him more than I need anything or anyone else.

Charles Spurgeon said “Our infirmities become the black velvet upon which the diamond of God’s love glitters all the more brightly.” It is very true. Does He not give us grace in a thousand different ways? His love shines as He daily walks through life with us.

His love is magnified as we slowly learn to marvel at all He is. It’s when we get glimpses of Him – glimpses of Christ and His sweet fellowship – that we finally conclude:

“To need Christ is not easier. But it is better.”

© Grace Baeten 2022