This is such a good quote from "Knowing God" by J I Packer

"As a believer, he finds in the cross of Christ assurance that he, as an individual, is beloved of God; 'the Son of God... Loved me, and gave himself for me' (Gal 2:20). Knowing this, he is able to apply to himself the promise that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). Not just some things, note, but all things! Every single thing that happens to him expresses God's love to him, and so far as he is concerned, God is love to him--holy, omnipotent love--at every moment and in every event of every day's life. Even when he cannot see the why and the wherefore of God's dealings, he knows that there is love in and behind them, and so he can rejoice always, even when, humanly speaking, things are going wrong. He knows that the true story of this life, when known, will prove to be, as the hymn say, 'mercy from first to last' -- and he is content"