“The doctrine of providence teaches Christians that they are never in the
grip of blind forces (fortune, chance, luck, fate); all that happens to them is
divinely planned, and each event comes as a new summons to trust, obey,
and rejoice, knowing that all is for one’s spiritual and eternal good.”
-J.I. Packer, Concise Theology

“This is the true place of action and faith. This is the victory which faith
has to achieve. Surrounded by incidents, events, circumstances, influences,
powers, all adverse to your deliverance and salvation; and with your hope,
as far as this region of things seen and temporal is concerned, utterly cut
off; your faith discovers another region, a realm and kingdom unseen, “the

heavenly places”: the sphere of “the things that are unseen and eternal.”
Your faith draws upon them. Faith finds them all good and true, precious
and powerful, suitable and superior. For these unseen things are of God.
They are the promises and pledges of God, and of His Word. For their
truth, you have no other evidence of sense….But you have the evidence of
your Creator’s word. You receive that as good and sufficient, as the very
highest evidence possible. You receive it as simply true. You prove that you
receive it as true by actually proceeding on it, and perilling precious issues
on it. You peril your hope and happiness, and peace upon it. You peril your
soul upon it for ever. You believe in hope, when you see no ground of
hope. You believe in hope, even when all you see is against your hope.
Circumstances, nature, creation, sight, sense, plead for the giving up of all
hope: and their pleas are strong; their statements, in themselves, are true.
But over against all these you place, in solitary, unapproachable, surpassing
majesty,-God.”
-Hugh Martin, “Jonah,” 86

My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colors He worketh steadily.
Oft times He weaveth sorrow And I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper, And I the underside.
Not til the loom is silent And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas And explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful In the Weaver's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver In the pattern He has planned.