The bitterest afflictions of this life can be sweet when Christians know that they come from God…
“In his preface to his commentary on the Psalms, Calvin makes a most remarkable statement about providence that goes to the very heart and soul of the religion he embraces. He writes that knowing the Psalter will teach Christians to suffer for God so that ‘we renounce the guidance of our own affections, and submit ourselves entirely to God, leaving him to govern us, and to dispose our life according to his will, so that the afflictions which are the bitterest and most severe to our nature, become sweet to us, because they proceed from him.’ The bitterest afflictions of this life can be sweet when Christians know that they come from God, serve his purposes, and ultimately contribute to their good. Calvin himself had and encouraged in his followers a truly astounding daily confidence in God and his ways.”
W. Robert Godfrey, John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor, 146