Day 12 — Peace with God and Hope That Holds

Day 12 · The Gospel: God’s Saving Grace · Romans 5:1-11 (NET2)

Through faith in Christ we have peace with God and stand in grace. Suffering remains real, but it is not proof that God has abandoned us. God forms endurance, character, and hope, and pours his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The cross gives that assurance a firm foundation: Christ died for us while we were sinners. Our present reconciliation points toward the fullness of salvation still to come.

Request

Father, by your Spirit, assure me of your love and steady my hope in Christ. Help me face today's difficulties from the security of your grace. Amen.

Read

Romans 5:1-11

¹ Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have also obtained access into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory. ³ Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance, character, and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s wrath. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? ¹¹ Not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

Scripture: NET Bible, Second Edition (NET2).

Reflect

1. What is already true of believers, what is God doing in them, and what do they still hope for?
2. How does Christ's death for sinners speak to a difficulty that makes you question God's love?

Restate

Connect peace with God, the Spirit's assurance, and future hope in one or two sentences.

Respond

Let the passage guide your prayer. Use these prompts in your own words:

• Praise: Praise God for his faithful, reconciling love.
• Thanksgiving: Thank him for peace with himself through Jesus Christ.
• Confession: Bring your doubts honestly and confess any resentment you are nurturing.
• Intercession: Pray for someone suffering, without minimizing their pain.
• Petition: Ask the Spirit for endurance and a renewed awareness of God's love.

Carry it into today: Encourage someone in difficulty with patient presence and one assurance from this passage, not a quick explanation for their suffering.