Hiding in the Light Quotes

“Wherever the church has lost this passion and fervor, may stories like mine disturb the cobwebs that limit believers’ faith to a menu selection—when Jesus is truly the feast Himself.”
― Rifqa Bary, Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus

“Forgiveness, by its nature, must often go into very hard places. I know. I’ve gone there. But forgiveness is not foolish and blind, an unthinking make-nice. Wisdom sometimes must tell even people who’ve genuinely forgiven to take ongoing steps that are hard to implement and apply and which to others may not look very forgiving. The heart of forgiveness can’t be judged in black-and-white, cookie-cutter dimensions that work fine in a spiritual lab but not in real life.”
― Rifqa Bary, Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus

“Jesus is freedom and forgiveness, hope and love, peace and purpose, plain and simple.”
― Rifqa Bary, Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus

“life was not my own anymore, and my spirit found a way to be at rest with that. I would serve Him with joy for however much longer He allowed me to live, and I would love Him to the absolute fullest even if these were my last months on earth.”
― Rifqa Bary, Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus

“For the first time in my life, I felt I could truly see through God’s eyes and feel what He felt. I could see the homeless and feel the sting of reproach in which they lived their lives. I could see my brother striving for acceptance and love from my father and feeling the pain of his constant rejection. I could see the popular girls at school and feel their emptiness and desire to have more than outward beauty. I could see creation—the flowers, the birds in the air, the smell of the morning dew—and feel the joy of my Father in heaven delighting in His creation. This compassion was definitely something I had never experienced before until my commitment to follow Christ.”
― Rifqa Bary, Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus

“at least I was fully confident that it made perfect sense to Him.”
― Rifqa Bary, Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus

“What I was running away from was certain. But what I was running toward… God only knew.”
― Rifqa Bary, Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus

“Jesus, I can’t do this alone. Thank You that it’s You who holds all of creation. It’s You who made the stars. It’s You who put breath in my lungs. You are my King and Judge. Help me trust You, Lord. You are the one who makes the final call.”
― Rifqa Bary, Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus

“and downs. Highs and lows. These were seasons of real progress as well as moments when God painfully made clear to me again why popularity doesn’t satisfy, why others’ love doesn’t satisfy, why money and the things it can buy don’t satisfy, why fantasizing about a different set of circumstances doesn’t satisfy. Why nothing else satisfies except Jesus and whatever I allow Him to transform in my life to reflect His loving touch on my soul.”
― Rifqa Bary, Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus

“When you’re a Christian,” she told me, “you obey God because you want to, because He’s changing you, because He’s made you a new person on the inside. It’s not like you just go out and sin as much as you like and don’t worry about it. But at the same time, you don’t need to do anything to make God love you.”
― Rifqa Bary, Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus