“In the realms of your creation, Lord, no one needs you more than I.”
This simple line captures a truth St. Augustine spent a lifetime discovering: our deepest restlessness comes from forgetting our dependence on God. Pride convinces us we are sufficient; grace reminds us that we are not — and that this is good news.
St. Augustine made this statement in his later life, after years of meandering toward Christianity. He knew how to be adamantly humble in his mature years because he had already spent his youth being adamantly proud.
Doorway to Mercy
Recognizing our need for God is not weakness but humility. It is the doorway to mercy. When we admit that we need Him more than we need anything or anyone else, we allow ourselves to gaze upon the gaping hole in our hearts.
After all, a surgeon cannot access a wound that we keep hidden. We must first remove our makeshift bandages and allow the surgeon to assess the wound so he can operate on it properly. Only then can he cut away, suture, and bandage as needed so the wound may ultimately heal.
Once we come to accept our need for God, then we can take steps to seek him. We can stop comparing ourselves to others and work toward becoming the person God created us to be. We stop defending our poor decisions and ask for God’s forgiveness so we can gain the grace to make better ones.
Allowing Healing
In turning from our self-centered ways toward a God-centered focus, we simply turn back to the One who alone can satisfy the human heart. We lower our shields and allow God to work in us and guide us.
Every soul has an “Augustine moment” — the instant when illusions fall away, and the heart confesses its poverty before God. Blessed are those who do not flee that moment but surrender to it.
Lord, in the vastness of Your creation, teach us to say with confidence and trust: I need You.
What Is an Augustine Moment?
An “Augustine moment” is the grace-filled realization that we cannot save ourselves. It is the turning point when pride gives way to humility and the heart admits its need for God. Like St. Augustine, we discover that restlessness ends only when we surrender to divine mercy. In that surrender, true freedom begins.