Can I Doubt His Tender Mercy?

We sang this hymn in church recently. I've known it for a long time, but don't hear it very often at all. I mean, it's still in King James English, for pity sake! Who needs that when we have modern music? I think we do. I think we need this kind of thinking:

All the way my Savior leads me,
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate'er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate'er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

The hymn title (if you haven't already figured it out) is All the Way My Savior Leads Me. It was written by Frances Crosby and published in 1875. Better known as Fanny Crosby, she was one of the most prolific writer of hymns, writing more than 9,000 of them in her lifetime. Her best known include Blessed Assurance, Near the Cross, To God be the Glory, and the Salvation Army favorite, Rescue the Perishing. Born in 1820, she lost her sight at 6 weeks old due to a guy pretending to be a doctor who prescribed hot mustard poultices to be applied for an eye infection. A few months later her father died.

Fanny had an unpleasant beginning to life, so it's somewhat surprising that she zealously memorized Scripture rather than spiraling into bitterness toward God. She wrote poetry and spent 23 years at the New York Institute for the Blind -- 12 as a student and 11 as a teacher. At 8 years old she wrote her first poem that began

Oh, what a happy soul I am,
although I cannot see!

And she said, "I know, whate'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well."

When will we who are so blessed arrive at that conclusion? We complain when things are unpleasant. We question God when things don't go well for us. But we can be sure that, whatever happens, Jesus always does the right thing (Rom 8:28). That kind of confidence should sustain us through the worst storms. "What have I to ask beside?"