If someone asked you, ‘Do you ever feel there’s something missing in your life?’ – what would you answer? We all long for something, don’t we? Either something personal when life is just tough or perhaps a little boring. And if our own lives are going well, loved ones could be facing trouble. And then I haven’t even mentioned politics, whether nationally or internationally.

So, what would you answer? Anything missing? Purpose, peace, freedom, acceptance, truth, joy, hope, security? UK-wide polling shows that you’re not the only one who longs for one or more of these! It makes you wonder: can we truly find these things? If so, where and how?

When we try to create these for ourselves, it’s all too fragile. The joy of a great day with friends is soon gone. Bad news from the GP destroys the security or freedom we’d worked so hard for. A new boss at work ruins the purpose and peace that work gave.

But what if you could find all that you long for, not in self-made, fragile ideas and things, but in one place or person? And not just for a fleeting moment, but a true and lasting filling of the emptiness? What if there ismore?

As a Christian, I believe there is more. There is an answer. Peace, security, truth, hope, joy – they can be found. Not in what I do or make. Rather, we find all we need and long for in Jesus Christ. He is God’s Son who came into this world to save sinners – that’s me and you and everyone else in our need and brokenness. He came to fix the real problem that underlies all the other ones.

But how could Jesus be any better than your best friend, your parent, or the next prime minister? That’s because Jesus Christ isn’t just any man. He is God with us. He proved his goodness and greatness when he lived in this broken world and answered people’s needs: the here-and-now issues like sickness and death, but more importantly the eternal need of a right standing and forgiveness before God our Creator. He proved it in his life, but most clearly in his death on the cross as a substitute for all who believe in him. He proved it by rising from the dead to new life, going before us, giving us the hope of new eternal life too.

If you turn from seeking solutions and answers on your own and in yourself, and turn to Jesus the full answer who meets all our needs, then you will be received and satisfied. Trust Jesus, and find life in Him.

This column first appeared in the Newark Advertiser in February 2026, and was written by Klaas-Jan Gunnink