Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1-5.  "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

We can look at this passage this way:

  We are justified by faith,

  and we have peace with God

  through Jesus Christ.

   We have access by faith

    into grace.

 We rejoice in hope 

    of God's glory.

   We rejoice in our sufferings

    knowing that,

          suffering produces endurance,

               endurance produces character

                    character produces hope.

  Hope does not put us to shame,

  because God's love has been poured into our hearts,

  through the Holy Spirit

  who has been given to us.

The most peaceful, faithful, gracious, joyful and hopeful people I know are the ones who have gone through painful experiences and have come out on the other side to praise God and give him all the glory.  We must try to see life's challenges as the way to deepen our faith through hope in the Lord, not in ourselves.