Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Cross
“I confess God before the world and all his enemies when, in the deepest distress, I believe in God’s goodness; when, in guilt, I believe in his forgiveness; in death, life; in defeat, victory; in abandonment, God’s gracious presence. Whoever has found God in the cross of Jesus Christ knows how mysteriously God hides himself in this world and how, when we believe him farthest away, he is just there beside us. Whoever has found God in the cross forgives all her enemies because God has forgiven her.”

Meditating on the Word by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Doubt
“Why have you forgotten me? Every Christian asks this question at some time, when everything is going against her, when all earthly hope is smashed, when she feels completely lost in the course of great world events, when all of life’s goals collapse and everything seems to lack sense. But what matters then is who she is questioning. Not an obscure fate, but “the God of my strength,” the eternal source on which my life depends. I go heavily in my doubt, but God remains the source of strength; I sway, God stands immovable; I become false, God remains true—“the God of my strength.”

Meditating on the Word by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.