I have yet to find any support in the Bible for an attitude of smugness: Ah, they deserve their punishment; watch them squirm.
Philip YanceyIf we insist on visible proofs from God, we may well prepare the way for a permanent state of disappointment. True faith does not so much attempt to manipulate God to do our will as it does to position us to do his will. As I searched through the Bible for models of great faith, I was struck by how few saints experienced anything like Job's dramatic encounter with God. The rest responded to the hiddenness not by demanding that he show himself, but by going ahead and believing him though he stayed hidden.
Philip YanceyWe need faith and the mind of the Lord Jesus to recognize something of lasting value in even our most ordinary tasks.
Philip YanceyIt's easy to fall into the trap of feeling like you've heard everything before and that you have nothing left to learn.
Philip YanceyJesus never met a disease he could not cure, a birth defect he could not reverse, a demon he could not exorcise. But he did meet skeptics he could not convince and sinners he could not convert. Forgiveness of sins requires an act of will on the receiver's part, and some who heard Jesus' strongest words about grace and forgiveness turned away unrepentant.
Philip Yancey