Psalm 66:6-12

He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot—come, let us rejoice in him.  He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations—let not the rebellious rise up against him. Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.

Strikingly, the psalmist praises God for letting so many bad things happen to him and the people of God. God is seen as present in every one of the sufferings that are listed in these verses. He "preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping" in the midst of affliction. He is the one behind the prison, the burdens, the oppression, all summed up as going "through fire and water." But God allows them in order to refine us into something precious, great, and beautiful. Just as Joseph seemed to be handling his brothers roughly - but only as a way of breaking the ice over their hearts and saving them (Genesis 42) - so God's seeming rough handling is always grace.
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