Romans 5: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Where do we find the peace, the hope and the strength to continue on in this world filled with anxiety, sorrow, evil and pain? Do we hope in the leadership? Do we hope in our own prowess? Do we hope in the love of our family? Do we hope in our own goodness? Do we hope in friends? Where do we find the strength that will carry us from today into tomorrow, when we suddenly are facing financial disaster, struggling against the evils of all that surround us? Our only hope can be found in a relationship with our creator who is God. That relationship; however, was broken by our sin so that a perfectly righteous God could not abide with us as we so often choose to worship the creation more than the creator. With covetous, self exalting hearts we march on and find that we have no hope. So where can there be hope? Do we hope in our ability to work out the deeds of the law so that God might accept us? After all, compared to some I am really not that bad; surely, God will accept me. Yet when my eyes behold the magnificent Glory which is God and the perfect righteousness which is His–I only see my utter unrighteousness.
Romans 3: 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Romans 4: 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Thus a just God cannot accept my futile attempts at righteousness. That is why there had to be someone who would pay the penalty of my unrighteousness so that God could remain the Just Judge that He must remain. Christ, being God himself, came to this earth to take on a human body that He might be tempted as we are and without sin then pay the penalty for my sin so that if I accept His atonement, my faith is counted to me as though I had been righteous. So it is, I by faith in His atoning Grace am able to stand in the hope of His Glory. The hope I receive by faith is a sustaining hope that I may revel in His love, His Joy and His Grace. This life I now live is but a fleeting moment, a blink of the eye compared to eternity. I live with hope and joy not based on what my current circumstances are; but based on that promise that God is with me. I must continue to tell others of His Love, His Mercy, His Grace, and His Glory. It is important to remember, that there is no price too great for me to pay for the salvation of one soul. Also, this life were it even to be filled with pain and sorrow, it is only a fleeting second and by faith I can rejoice in every tribulation as I understand that God has a perfect plan for my life. If my trials point you to Christ, then I gladly walk each step of this journey with a heart filled with joy.
Hebrews 11: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.