Day 11: Romans 5:2-7
[2] through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
[3] Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
[4] perseverance, character; and character, hope.
[5] And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
[6] You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
[7] Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
When I read the Apostle’s Paul letter to the church in Rome I couldn’t help but be reminded that sometimes we are so guilty of misplacing hope. We trust in the uncertain and we put our faith in things that fail.
In verse 2 Paul reminds us that we should “boast in the hope of the glory God.”
The HOPE of the Glory of God is something worth boasting in. Let’s remind ourselves of the facts:
- We couldn’t make it on our own.
- God made a way.
- We now stand in God’s grace.
- We access this through our faith in Him and when we do, it changes everything.
This is a certain hope. A sure hope. Something you can build your life on.
And Paul goes on remind us that whenever we face a trail in our life, we have this hope. Furthermore he reminds us that actually we should be thankful in times like this, because:
“we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Many people long for hope but don’t particularly welcome the word that starts off this list: Suffering. It’s not exactly a happy word is it.
But there is a key link between suffering and hope and that key is this: God’s ability to use the worst situations we face to work miracles in our life and remind us just how good he is.
When God allows us to go through a difficult time it produces:
- Perseverance
- Character
- Hope
And the hope it leads us back to is the Hope in the Glory of God. It throws our dependency and trust on God. We know we can’t face this alone, we know we can’t make a way but we have a certain hope that God can. In the midst of whatever you are facing at the moment, allow your boast to be in God and his goodness.
Ps Ed Winbow
Penrith Campus Pastor