Dr. Philpot once had the sad duty of going to tell a Christian woman that her husband had died in battle. After greeting her he said, “I am the bearer of sad tidings. Your dear husband has been slain in battle!” The woman fell to the floor and wept uncontrollably. The faithful pastor did all he could to bring comfort to her but the grief-stricken woman, seemingly deaf to his words, would only cry out, “Is it true after all?” Thinking that she doubted the sad news, he said: “Yes, my good woman, it is true. Your husband has given his life in the service of his country.” “Oh, Pastor,” she sobbed, “I know that my husband is gone, but is it really true that there is a God who cares?”

There are many difficult experiences in life and in some of them we may be tempted to doubt the goodness and wisdom of God. Castles tumble. Plans do not work out. Health flees. Everything seems to go wrong. What is the answer?

The answer lies in our inability to know all the details of any given situation as God knows them. Our information is incomplete. God, knowing the future and all the results of every possible set of events, brings about what is best for His own (see Romans 8:28).

When we meet Him, we’ll join the heavenly chorus singing: “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”