Finding the REAL Jesus: Believing in a Higher Power
I've often heard people say they don't believe in Jesus or God, but they do believe in "a higher power." It's a phrase that comes up more than you'd think — at work, in casual conversation, even in recovery programs. And honestly, I understand where it comes from. It speaks to something inherent in us: a sense that there must be a creator, a designer, something good that exists outside of and above our world.
That instinct isn't wrong. It's often where the search for who Jesus truly is begins. But simply believing in a higher power isn't enough to end the search. A higher power, left vague and undefined, has no real bearing on your life. It asks nothing of you and gives you nothing in return. And without knowing who Jesus is — and what He actually has for you — that search can quietly turn destructive, as we look for something, anything, to fill a space only He was meant to fill.
A Higher Power: Even Demons Believe
"You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!" — James 2:19
Even demons believe that God exists. That's how low the bar of mere belief actually is. Believing a higher power is "out there" costs you nothing and changes nothing. Its put you in control of your own salvation, based on worldly measures of performance. It is this belief that often leads to our own self-destruction.
True salvation comes from not only believing in God, but also receiving salvation from Jesus.
But what does receiving Jesus actually look like? It's not an act of humiliation, where we shrink ourselves and feel small or weak in front of Him. It's the opposite. Receiving Jesus is surrender — laying down the things we've been white-knuckling on our own: our control, our self-reliance, our fear, the idols we've quietly built to replace Him. That kind of surrender doesn't diminish you. It frees you. You're not losing anything worth keeping; you're releasing what was never going to save you in the first place, so your hands are finally open to receive what He actually has for you.
We need Jesus to save us from our sin so we can live in His promise beyond this life. But His salvation isn't only about what happens after we die — it has a place in our daily lives, right now. This is the truth that "believing in a higher power" quietly erases. A higher power doesn't walk with you through a hard Tuesday. Jesus does.
Knowing Jesus is Knowing God
More than anything, God wants a personal relationship with you. Not to discipline you every time you mess up, or point a finger when you get it wrong — He wants to know you so that He can lavish His love on you.
"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." — 1 John 3:1
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us." — Ephesians 1:7–8
Read that again — lavished upon us. Not measured out carefully. Not rationed. Lavished. To lavish isn't to simply provide what's needed and stop there. A higher power might do that much — meet a need, answer a prayer, keep the world spinning. But lavish means overflow. It means affection poured out well past what was required, with nothing held back. That's not the posture of a distant force keeping the universe in order.
That's the posture of a Father who delights in you.
And this is what separates knowing God from merely believing a higher power exists: the relationship isn't built on your performance. God isn't waiting for you to get it right before He loves you well. His love and grace aren't the reward for perfection — they're the foundation you stand on while you're still becoming. Knowing Jesus is knowing God, and knowing God means learning, maybe for the first time, that you were never one mistake away from losing His affection. You already have it.
Jesus IS the Way
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" — John 14:6
Our sin and brokenness separate us from God — that is sin's greatest power. Before Christ, God's people atoned for their sin through sacrifices and burnt offerings, an endless cycle that could cover sin but never fully erase it. But Jesus changed everything. Through Him, we have a new covenant.
For those who don't know Jesus, it's easy to look at the cross and see only weakness — a man beaten, mocked, and executed at the hands of the Romans, seemingly powerless to stop it. But that's not what happened at Calvary. The cross was never Rome's victory over Jesus. It was Jesus, in the fullest display of power and strength, laying down His life on His own terms to make the way for us. No one took it from Him — He gave it. That's not defeat. That's a champion choosing the battlefield.
He is our champion — fighting on our behalf so that we might receive God's love and share in His ultimate promise. And in that same act, He already made the way. The path to the Father isn't something we're still waiting on. It's finished. Jesus didn't just point toward the way — on the cross, He became it.
Prayer
Jesus, thank You for being our champion. Give us what we need to keep our eyes fixed on You. Turn our hearts and minds from treating our Father as simply a higher power, to knowing Him as the One who knows us personally. Lord, we praise You that Your desire for us is not distance, but to be lavished by You.
Word of Encouragement
No matter where you are in your faith — whether you believe in a god, or you've fully accepted and received Jesus — know this: God's desire for you remains the same. He isn't waiting for you to earn a closer relationship with Him. He's already lavishing His love on you. The only question is whether you'll receive it.
Scripture References
James 2:19
1 John 3:1
Ephesians 1:7–8
John 14:6
