putting your entire existence in the hands of One whom you cannot see, touch, or hear is far from natural. This is why faith is only ever a gift of divine grace.

All the things that disappoint you now are to remind you that this is not all there is

God not only gives you the grace to believe for your salvation, but he also works to enable you to live by faith.

biblical faith—that is, true faith in the existence, presence, promises, and provisions of God—never requires you to deny reality in any way. It is not biblical faith to try to convince yourself that things are better than they actually are. It is not biblical faith to work to make yourself feel good about what is not good. Biblical faith looks reality in the face and does not flinch.

We can experience peace in the face of the unknown. We can feel an inner well-being while living in the middle of mystery. Why? Because our peace of heart does not rest on how much we know, how much we have figured out, or how accurately we have been able to predict the future. No, our rest is in the person who holds our individual futures in his wise and gracious hands. We have peace because we know that he will complete the good things that he in grace has initiated in our lives.

Faith is something that you do with your life. True biblical faith doesn't stop with thought; it radically rearranges the way that you approach everything in your life.

The commands, principles, and case studies of Scripture will take you only so far in your quest to figure out your life. There will be moments when you simply don't understand what is going on. In fact, you will face moments when what the God who has declared himself to be good brings into your life won't seem good. It may even seem bad, very bad.

Not knowing is hard. It would be nice to know if that elder is going to succumb to the temptation of being divisive. It would be nice to know if the finances of the church are going to rebound. It would be nice to know how that new preaching series will be received, if those young missionaries will make all the adjustments that they need to make, or if you'll get the permits to build that needed worship space.

Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith.

Faith includes both an immediate awareness of something unconditional and the courage to take the risk of uncertainty upon itself. Faith says "Yes" in spite of the anxiety of "No." Biblical Religion and the Search for Ultimate Reality

Courage as an element of faith is the daring self-affirmation of one's own being in spite of the powers of "non-being" which are the heritage of everything finite.

De moed van het vertrouwen neemt de angst voor het lot even goed als de angst voor de schuld in zich op. Deze moed zegt tot beide: "En toch."Dit is de ware betekenis van de leer der voorzienigheid. Voorzienigheid is geen theorie over zekere handelingen van God, maar het godsdienstig symbool van de moed van het vertrouwen ten aanzien van lot en dood. Want de moed van het vertrouwen zegt zelfs tot de dood: "En toch.