If 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.

Grace is a free gift of God, but to receive a gift you must have open hands.

I doubt God keeps track of how many arguments we win; God may indeed keep track of how well we love.

When suffering happens, it forces us to confront life in a different way than we normally do.

A God wise enough to create me and the world I live in is wise enough to watch out for me.

Jesus represents a point of common ground an esteemed rabbi to the Jew, a god to the Hindu, an enlightened one to the Buddhist, a great prophet to the Muslim. Even to the New Age guru, Jesus is the pinnacle of God-consciousness. At the same time, Jesus is the divider. None but Christians see Him as a member of the Godhead on an exclusive mission to repair the broken world.

The Bible never belittles human disappointment ... but it does add one key word: temporary.