Guilty But Free
A young woman was caught going one hundred miles an hour in a fifty-five-mile-per-hour zone outside one of those small towns. The policeman brought her into court where the judge fined her one hundred dollars. “But I don't have one hundred dollars,” she wailed.
“I'm sorry, but you will have to spend the weekend in jail,” the judge told her. “You owe the court one hundred dollars. You may not have the money, but the law is the law.”
She began to cry. “Please, your honor, I don't have one hundred dollars, but I don't want to spend the weekend in jail.”
The judge said, “I can't change the law.” But the young woman begged for mercy again - and to the surprise of the bailiff and the policeman, the judge did something very interesting. He pushed his chair back from the bench, took off his robe, walked around to where the woman was standing, pulled out his wallet, and gave the bailiff a one-hundred-dollar bill, went back to the bench, put his robe back on, and sat down.
Then the judge picked up his gavel and said, “Young lady, I see someone has paid your fine. Case dismissed. You're free to go.”
That's what God did for you and me. We stood before the bench of His justice, and He said, “You've been found guilty of sinning against My holy character. You've either got to pay the price of perfection or spend eternity in the prison called hell.”
But God the Judge also heard us cry out for mercy. He knew we had nothing to pay our debt with. So in the Person of Jesus Christ He stepped out of heaven, “zipped down” His deity, put on the robe of humanity, and paid the price Himself on the cross. Three days later, He put His robe of deity back on and ascended back to the bench of heaven.
Now He looks down and says to anyone who comes to Him and begs for mercy, “I can't change the law, but I can pay the price.” You will never have to worry about heaven again if you know Jesus Christ.
The Judge who pronounced sentence against you also paid your fine. He'll do it for anyone who comes to Him.
- Tony Evans
Provided by his devotional entitled: "Time To Get Serious"
Hope In God's Goodness
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13 (NKJV)
There was a time when someone spoke Psalm 27:13 over me, praying “that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.” Not just someday in heaven. Not just once I was free from the pain of this world. Here. In the middle of the brokenness I was drowning in.
At the time, I couldn’t receive it. I couldn’t even imagine it. I believed in God’s goodness … for other people. For the ones whose prayers seemed to get answers, whose lives looked stitched together. But not for me. The absence of joy felt like a final verdict in my life, and all I could see was sorrow. Hopelessness kept me stuck, rooted in despair.
Hannah knew that kind of sorrow too. We see in 1 Samuel 1 how she longed for a child, but year after year, her womb remained closed. In her anguish, she poured out her soul before the Lord - weeping bitterly, praying silently. But Hannah kept showing up. She believed, even in her pain, that she would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And in time, she did. She gave birth to Samuel, who would become one of Israel’s greatest prophets.
In fact, Samuel anointed King David, whose words in Psalm 27 echo Hannah’s story. She could have let the silence of unanswered prayers convince her that God had forgotten her. But instead she clung to hope. And she witnessed God’s goodness.
Hope can feel fragile when life is loud with pain. Sometimes it seems safer to brace ourselves for disappointment than to believe God’s goodness might actually break through in our lifetime, in our story, in our ache.
Maybe, like me, you’ve found yourself in that gray space where it feels like hope has packed its bags and moved on without you. You still whisper prayers, or maybe even shout, but heaven seems to hold its breath. You hear others testifying to answered prayers and overflowing blessings, and you quietly wonder, What about me?
Psalm 27:13 offers a lifeline: “I would have despaired had I not believed …”
What did David believe? That goodness was coming. Not just in eternity but here. On this side of heaven. God is not done. This chapter isn’t the whole story.
It’s not easy to cling to hope sometimes. But even if you’re in a season of silence or sorrow, may this be a sacred moment of trust, an act of gentle defiance against despair. May you dare to believe, even with trembling hands, that goodness is still chasing you down. Even now. Especially now.
Lord, when my heart feels thin and hope feels far away, steady me again with the promise of Your goodness. Remind me, like You reminded Hannah, that You see every silent prayer and every hidden ache. Help me cling to You with quiet courage, believing I will see Your goodness. Lift my eyes, strengthen my spirit, and let hope rise again. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
- Tabitha Yates
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"
Transformation...
Transformation rarely looks graceful in the middle of it. It often feels confusing, uncomfortable, and unfinished. If you feel like you’re falling apart instead of coming together, this might not be failure... it might be formation. God does some of His deepest work in seasons that feel messy and hidden. So if today feels heavy, keep going. Grace is still at work in you.
Provided by "Mindful Christianity"