Every joy or trial, falleth from above...

(by Tim) In connection with the hymn, Like a River Glorious, a man I respect surprised me recently when he commented concerning the line, "Every joy or trial, falleth from above; traced upon our dial by the Son of love," that some would question the biblical support for this statement.

Listening to him, I thought how fearful and dreary it must be to go through life as a believer in Jesus Christ who denies that our Heavenly Father is in control of sickness, temptation, and death. But more than the dreariness of it, what can these people be thinking when they read such texts as this from the Luke 4 account of Jesus' wilderness temptations...

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. (Luke 4:1,2)

Note that Jesus was led around by the Holy Spirit for forty days "being tempted by the Devil." Isn't this precisely what the hymn says: "Every joy or trial, falleth from above; traced upon our dial by the Son of love?"

And if we doubt God's control over each trial in our path, how can we claim his promise that "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it' (1Corinthians 10:13)?

Both statements, being biblical, are true: God tempts no one; and Jesus was led around by the Holy Spirit while He was being tempted by the Devil. What comfort I find in knowing that there's not one quark or millisecond or malicious act of the Devil and his minions that falls outside God's knowledge and control.

I am at peace.