I have learned that faith means trusting in advance what will make sense only in reverse.
Philip YanceyWe grow up hungry for love, and in ways so deep as to remain unexpressed we long for our Maker to love us.
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 YanceyOur best efforts at changing society will fall short unless the church can teach the world how to love.
Philip YanceyI say this with care, but I wonder if a fierce, insistent desire for a miracle - even a physical healing - sometimes betrays a lack of faith rather than an abundance of it. When yearning for a miraculous resolution to a problem, do we make our loyalty to God contingent on whether he reveals himself yet again in the seen world?
Philip Yancey