1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NIV) 13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14 Do everything in love.
Galatians 5:22 (NIV) …the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…
Galatians 2:20 (NIV) I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) We live by faith, not by sight.
Mark 11:23 (NIV) "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”
Faith is not the way around pain, it is the way through pain. Faith doesn't get rid of the opposition, it invites it over for dinner. Faith doesn't give you the winning point at the last second, it ties the game and sends you into overtime. Faith doesn't give you the solution, it forces you to find it. Faith doesn't teach you at the moment, it teaches in retrospect. Faith doesn't provide a net to fall into when your fingers are about to give way as you hang suspended over the cliff, faith gives your fingers the strength to hang on just a little longer. Mike Yaconelli, The Door (Sept./Oct. 1994). Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 2. Today's Best Illustrations - Today's Best Illustrations – Volume 5.
