Evil in our lives is like the color black in paintings. Our lives are as a canvas before the Lord, rebels and children alike. He is sovereign, he is good, and he does all things well. The black in our lives was no mistakes, every stroke is a part of the whole.
Some afflictions are caused by our own sins, some are not. Learn to distinguish these well... Because if it is the first, we must repent and learn our lesson lest we have to be taught it again. In either case and all the more in times of joy--wait upon the Lord, sing his praises, fear him--for this the the whole duty of humanity.
In Psalms 33, the psalmist sings a "new song" in the face of death and famine; in suffering that was not due to his sins. In Psalm 40, he again sings a "new song" as he is rescued from the miry bog that is his own unrighteousness. Yet in either cases, Yahweh is the cause of the new song that comes forth from his lips. We are to wait upon our deliverer, for he is faithful, good, and true.
Adoniram and Ann Judson lost their first child, nameless, at sea sailing to Burma as the first missionaries to the heathen land. Their second child, Roger, died at 17 months... When Roger died, Ann wrote,
"Our hearts were bound up with this child; we felt he was our earthly all, our only source of innocent recreation in this heathen land. But God saw it was necessary to remind us of our error, and to strip us of our only little all. O, may it not be vain that he has done it. May we so improve it that he will stay his hand and say 'It is enough.'"
O may I have that kind of faith in God's goodness and sovereignty. May our pains not be in vain and may we so improve for his glory.
But I never quite hear it right away.
I had to learn another painful lesson today.
Thankful your words had first tilled my heart.