God is better than...
God is better than the things of this world and, through the process of sanctification, He is making all of us better.
I’m currently taking our youth group through a series called Better. The bottom line in the series is God is better than—well, everything. This is what I’m reminding myself: God is better than the things of this world and, through the process of sanctification, He is making all of us better.
I can be a wreck of a person. When I don’t spend time alone with Jesus the first person to notice is my wife. I’m thankful she radiates God’s grace!
It doesn’t take long for others to notice either.
I become easily irritated, offended, mad, and just unhappy and discontent.
If I want to be a better husband, father, friend, pastor—a better anything, I need to spend time alone with Jesus. If Jesus needed time away from the crowds to connect with the Father—I need it way more!
Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) once said: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
David Mathis, the executive editor for desiringGod.org and pastor at Cities Church, writes at Desiring God:
And yet, long before Pascal, Jesus himself modeled for us the very kind of habits and rhythms of life we need in any age. Even as God in human flesh, he prioritized time alone with his Father. Imagine what “good” he might otherwise have done with all those hours. But he chose again and again, in perfect wisdom and love, to give his first and best moments to seeking his Father’s face. And if Jesus, even Jesus, carved out such space in the demands of his human life, shouldn’t we all the more?
When I learn to sit alone with God everything comes into focus. I realize everything I’m chasing apart from God is not better for me. Even the good things. My focus is realigned to the reality that apart from God there is nothing good in me but Christ in me.
God is better than life
In the first week of this Better series at youth, we focused on Psalm 63:3, which says:
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you” (NIV).
I’m learning to see everything as less in comparison to Christ.
If I lose all my worldly possessions I still have more in Christ than I ever had to begin with. God has been reminding me how much better He is than everything in this life.
Nothing compares to what we have in Christ.
I’m a son. You’re a son or daughter—of the Most High King!
That’s better than anything the world can give you but the world will surely try to say otherwise. Anything the world tries to sell as “better” only makes us long for more. We are never truly satisfied.
We constantly want more.
For many, our thirst intensifies every day, worsened by the overflow of all sorts of things claiming superiority. Whether it's wealth, popularity, achievements, money, careers, or relationships, societal cues bombard us, asserting their goodness or superiority over the "true water" found in Jesus.
John 7:37-38 says:
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
Rivers of living water will never flow out of anything the world has to offer. It will only flow from the true source, Jesus Himself.
Every day things happen to try and lead us to these “lesser waters” that never truly satisfy or quench. These things steer us away, suggesting something else is superior, something else holds more significance than our connection with our Creator. Regrettably, we often succumb to these temptations. I’ve done it.
These worldly enticements resemble drinking soda after a marathon. Oh, do I love a cold Mountain Dew. But it never really quenches my thirst. Sodas taste sweet, seemingly providing refreshment, but in truth, they only deepen your thirst. The poisoned wells of this world offer no solace in a parched and weary landscape. They insidiously whisper the falsehood that God alone is insufficient.
But the truth is God alone IS sufficient—He IS better!
All this to say, as we invest more time in God's presence, our intentions and deeds effortlessly align with His will. Step by step, gradually and consistently, we move from one level of glory to another, continually transforming for the better.
Today, I pray that you stand strong against the world's falsehoods that suggest we're incapable of improvement or must struggle relentlessly to make even slight progress.
Allow me to emphasize: every soul united with Christ carries the Holy Spirit's breath within—something not meant to be restrained. God surpasses the world's offerings, and through sanctification, He is actively refining us all, making us better each day.
I want to be better, but I know that will only happen because of the transformation Jesus creates within me.
I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful for God’s grace.
God’s grace opens the door to a better life.
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About Aaron
Aaron Joseph Hall is a husband, a dad of 4 boys, and a writer based out of South Florida. He’s written 1,000s of articles over the years, a few books, and has bylines at The Washington Times, The Christian Post, and Think Eternity. You can find his latest book on Amazon and follow him on X and Instagram.