Not Condemned

Crawling into bed, I snuggled under the blankets as clouds filled my

mind. “Another day I’ve messed up,” I thought, tears filling my eyes. “When

will I ever get it right?” Despair filled my mind, making sleep impossible.

I wanted to pray, but I was too scared to do it. Why would God want to

listen to me after I had failed Him for the umpteenth time? I could just

picture Him shaking His head with a groan as I stumbled forward to ask for

forgiveness again.

.

I pulled my knees into my chest, and pulled the covers around tighter.

Then, a voice spoke right to my heart Therefore, there is now no

condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It was a ray of sunshine

from heaven. I had heard the verse (Romans 8:1) before, but never needed to

hear those words as much as I did then.

.

God doesn’t expect perfection from His childrenand He does not condemn us.

He knows that all humans sin, failing to love Him and one another (Matthew

22:37-40; Romans 3:23-24). Our sin grieves Him because He loves us and sin

hurts us, but He also understands the struggle we go through. More than

that, He gives us victory in our strugglebecause His own Son, Jesus, lived

through the same struggles we now experience, and He defeated every

temptation. Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we have His Spirit in us,

giving us that same power to resist sin.

.

And even when we fail, not only does God understand, but He has already

forgiven us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, there

is now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1,

emphasis added). As we come to Him, repenting from our sins and seeking His

help, He gladly gives it to us out of love. We don’t have to be afraid of

punishment because Jesus took our punishment upon Himself when He went to

the cross and nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39).

So, through each struggle, temptation, sin, and failure, He is still there,

ready to help you through and ready to give you victory. Lily Walsh

.

Do you ever feel like you’ve failed too many times to receive God’s

grace? How does today’s Bible passage speak into this?

.

How can knowing that God gives us victory through Christ give us hope,

especially when we fail? (If you want to dig deeper, read John 3:16-17;

Hebrews 4:14-16; and 1 John 4:18.)

.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Romans 8:1-Romans 8:14