Not Guilty!

This past week my daughter, who is a first year criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles, tried her first case before a jury.  After a day of deliberation the jury came back with a “not guilty” verdict.  My husband and I had prayed her through the trial and were beyond excited to hear that she had won her first jury trial!  Obviously we were not alone in our excitement because she had 122 Facebook friend “likes” after she posted “NOT GUILTY on my first jury trial!!!” My daughter’s client rejoiced when he heard the verdict and she had to restrain his outburst of joy!  Whether falsely accused or rightly charged whenever anyone is found to be not guilty there comes an exhaling of all the stress, shame and anxiety that has filled the accused. 

The Lord kept bringing to my mind the words “not guilty” this week as I listened and waited for His whisper and His lesson.  My mind often goes back to my college years when I knew the Lord, yet did not know what it meant to walk with Him in an intimate relationship.  I tried so many ways to find acceptance from others and happiness for myself, but all my attempts ended alone in my dorm room or apartment crying out to God in shame and guilt for seeking acceptance and happiness in all the wrong places.   I was in a cycle of doing things I knew where wrong, feeling guilt and shame, confessing them to the Lord and then returning to the same old cycle once more.  I hadn’t grasped the life changing truth of the gospel of grace. 

One day as I walked through the doors of a college Bible study I entered into a place of grace, where I found acceptance and real joy.  It was there that I finally took ownership of my Christianity.  I came to the realization that Jesus wasn’t just the One I confessed my sins to every night in my bedroom, but He was the One who would empower me to walk out of the cycle of guilt and shame into a “not guilty” grace-filled life.  Jesus accepted me just as I was, but loved me too much to let me stay in such bondage!   Now some thirty years later, the Lord continues to transform my life by His grace and His powerful presence. 

People love to hear about a victory, especially the victory of an underdog, like a budding new lawyer!  It spurs us on to think that we too can experience such victory.  It would be interesting to see how many "likes" we would receive if we posted on Facebook  our victories over sin. A friend of mine often says, “God loves bad odds!” God loves the underdog. He cheers on the one who is less likely to succeed, the meek and the weak.   Are you in need of a victory today?  Are you tired of the struggle?  Then enter into a place of grace where you will find forgiveness, acceptance and joy unspeakable!  It says in scripture that when one person repents from a life of death and destruction and turns to the Lord there is a chorus of angels in heaven praising the Lord for His victory!  “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  1 Corinthians 15:57   

Here's to Victory!

Nancy