I’d Rather Have Jesus

Before hymns were written, believers lifted their voices through the Psalms—using God’s Word itself as their songs of worship. Over time, hymns have become a beautiful way to tell the stories of God’s faithfulness and inspire generations of Christians.

I am in awe of how God has gifted people with words that tell these stories.

One of the most enduring hymns, I’d Rather Have Jesus, carries with it a remarkable testimony of redemption, surrender, and the power of choosing Christ above all else.

The story begins with Rhea F. Miller, who wrote the hymn in 1922. She was inspired by the transformation of her father, Martin James Ross, a man once bound by alcoholism but freed through faith in Jesus. His powerful testimony—that he would rather have Jesus than anything the world could offer—moved Rhea to put those words into a poem. Years later, George Beverly Shea, a young man struggling with the lure of fame, found her lyrics placed on his family’s piano. As he read them, he was stirred to set the words to music, giving birth to the hymn we know today. Shea’s decision to dedicate his voice to God carried the song to millions worldwide through Billy Graham’s crusades.

First verse:
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands.
I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand

Second verse
I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame.
I’d rather be true to His holy name [Chorus]

Third verse
He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs.
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead [Chorus]

Chorus:
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway.
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

In life, God knows and has planned every aspect of our lives. He knows the beginning and the end. We can see from the backstory of “I’d Rather Have Jesus” how God used one man’s testimony of faith to inspire his daughter to write a poem whose words would later influence and impact a young man’s life years later.

We know as believers that Christ calls us to a life of surrender. One that is surrendered totally to Him. Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him. In that surrender, we learn and trust in a God that we would rather have than all of the temporal things around us.

May this hymn continue to encourage us, as it has for generations, to proclaim with conviction that nothing compares to having Jesus.

Reference
Hymnary.org Rhea F. Miller https://hymnary.org/person/Miller_Rhea
101More Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck (1985)