I Need Jesus: 4 Reasons I’m Desperate For My Savior

I need Jesus.

I need Jesus like I need oxygen. Like I need food. Like I need water and air and life itself. Like I need blood pumping through my veins.

Actually, I need him even more than those things, for he is the one who provides those all those things for me.

I desperately need him.

And yet so often I forget that I need Jesus.

Insanity, I know.

I act as if I can live apart from him. As if I can make it through the trials and thorns and valleys of this life without his sustaining grace.

As if I am somehow strong enough to make it on my own.

In those forgetful moments, I need to turn my mind once again to scripture and remember some key truths.

I Need Jesus As My Savior

More than anything else, I am desperate for a savior. My sins against God separated me from him. Apart from Jesus, I was doomed to hell. I was destined to be punished for my sins in eternity.

I was moving toward a head-on collision with the furious wrath of God.

I was an enemy of God. I was not his friend, not seeking to please him, not seeking to walk in righteousness.

Ephesians 2:1-3 puts it this way:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

I was in desperate, dire need of a savior. Someone to rescue me both from myself and from the wrath that my sins had brought upon me.

Jesus is the savior I so desperately needed. He became a man, lived a sinless life in my place, died my death upon the cross, and then rose again. He is my righteousness. He is my justification. He is my peace with God.

Now that I am in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation left for me. As it says in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Those are such sweet, life-giving words.

Why do I need Jesus? I need Jesus as my savior and rescuer and redeemer.

I Need Him To Strengthen Me

Not only is Jesus my Savior, but he is also my Great High Priest who intercedes for me to the Father. He is the one who sits upon the throne of grace, ready to give me exactly what I need when I need it.

As it says in Hebrews 4:-15-16:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus was tempted just as I am tempted. He understands how difficult and strenuous temptation can be, and because he was tempted as I am tempted, he is able to perfectly help me in my times of weakness and need.

Jesus is able to give me the grace and mercy I need when I’m weak, weary, overwhelmed, or burdened. He is able to supply me with all the grace I need to honor God in every situation.

When I’m weak, he is strong.

I simply need to run to the throne of grace and receive all that he has for me. I come empty and he fills me with his Spirit. I come weary and he refreshes me. I come dry and he gives me new life.

Why do I need Jesus? I need him to strengthen me.

I Need Jesus As My Shepherd

In John 10:14-15, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

I desperately need a shepherd. I need someone who will guide me to still waters and lead me to green pastures. I need someone who will walk beside me as I travail through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. I need someone who will rescue me when I fall.

Jesus is that glorious, good shepherd. He sustains my faith when I am weak. He feeds me from his word. He guides me in his will.

Apart from Jesus I am foolish and will wander into sin. I will stumble and fall and stray from the path of righteousness.

Thankfully, I have a good shepherd who has promised to keep me and watch over me. The reason I can’t lose my salvation is that I have a shepherd who is holding fast to me.

Why do I need Jesus? Because I need a shepherd.

I Need Him To Help Me Produce Good Fruit

In John 15:4-5, Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

The simple reality is that apart from Jesus, I cannot produce any good spiritual fruit. I can’t please God unless I’m abiding in Jesus. Just as a branch can’t produce any fruit unless it’s connected to the tree, so I can’t bear any good fruit unless I’m tightly connected to Jesus.

The good news is that I am united to Christ. When God saved me, he joined me to Christ so closely that when God looks at me, he sees Jesus, and vice versa. Because I am joined to Jesus, I will bear much good fruit. I don’t need to fear that I will be a useless Christian.

Does this mean that there’s nothing I need to do? Of course not. I’m called to run hard after Jesus and pursue him with all my might. But I can be confident that God is at work in me, even as I seek to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling.

I know that I will bear fruit because I’m connected to an abiding in Jesus.

Why do I need Jesus? Because I can’t bear spiritual fruit apart from him.

A Prayer

Jesus, I confess that I desperately need you. On my own, I don’t have the strength or ability to save, sustain, shepherd, or bear fruit myself. I need you. I need you as my savior to rescue me from the power of sin and darkness. Only you can save me and you have saved me. Praise be to God!

When I’m weak, I desperately need you to sustain me and give me spiritual strength. Because you are my great high priest who has been tempted in every way, you are able to give me exactly what I need. You are able to give me grace for every single situation that I face. Praise be to God!

I need you, Jesus, to shepherd me. Apart from you, I will wander into foolishness. I will stumble into sin. I will walk in stupidity. I praise you that you are my good shepherd and that you are leading me to still waters and green pastures. Praise be to God!

I also desperately need you Jesus to help me produce spiritual fruit. Apart from you I will be a barren, fruitless branch. But with your power, I can bear much good fruit for God. Thank you that I vitally connected to you, so much so that I WILL bear good fruit. Praise be to God!