May 11

Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? — Job 2:10

Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word. — Ps 119:65

Whatsoe’er our lot may be,
Calmly in this thought we’ll rest,—
Could we see as Thou dost see,
We should choose it as the best.
—WM. GASKELL.

It is a proverbial saying, that every one makes his own destiny; and this is usually interpreted, that every one, by his wise or unwise conduct, prepares good or evil for himself: but we may also understand it, that whatever it be that he receives from the hand of Providence, he may so accommodate himself to it, that he will find his lot good for him, however much may seem to others to be wanting.
—WM. VON HUMBOLDT.

Evil, once manfully fronted, ceases to be evil; there is generous battle-hope in place of dead, passive misery; the evil itself has become a kind of good.
—T. CARLYLE.