--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A wise Providence consoles our present…" description: "\"A wise Providence consoles our present afflictions by joys borrowed from the future.\" — Hosea Ballou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/hosea-ballou-3245_affliction_a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-a_2927956.png" --- # A wise Providence consoles our present afflictions by joys… ![“A wise Providence consoles our present afflictions by joys borrowed from the future.” quote by Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/hosea-ballou-3245_affliction_a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-a_2927956.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/hosea-ballou-3245_affliction_a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-a_2927956.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/hosea-ballou-3245_affliction_a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-a_2927956.png) > “A wise Providence consoles our present afflictions by joys borrowed from the future.” [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Future joys can soothe present suffering, offering hope beyond current pain. **In simple terms:** Future happiness eases today’s troubles. Key Takeaway Seek hope in future possibilities. Themes hope comfort future faith Mood optimistic reassuring Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal growth - motivational speaking - therapy Key Concepts anticipation psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What future joys can you imagine now? - How does hope affect current coping? A Different Perspective Future optimism may ignore present action needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affliction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) [Afflictions Joys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afflictions-joys-4300289/) [Borrowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowed/) [Borrowed Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowed-future-4300287/) [Console](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/console/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Joys Borrowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joys-borrowed-4300288/) [Providence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/providence/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise Providence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-providence-1075381/) ## Related quotes > [“The duty of planning tomorrow's work is today's duty; though its material is borrowed from the future, the duty, like all duties, is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-duty-of-planning-tomorrow-s-work-is-today-s-duty-though-its/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Senator H. V. Johnson said: I believe we should be recreant to our noble mission, if we refused acquiescence in the high purposes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/senator-h-v-johnson-said-i-believe-we-should-be-recreant-to-our-noble/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [...the wise providence of God orders our affairs in many different ways and lovingly bestows on each one of us what is appropriate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-palamas/the-wise-providence-of-god-orders-our-affairs-in-many-different-ways/) [Gregory Palamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-palamas/) > [“Illness is merely the bitter, which a wise Providence mingles in the cup of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-holman/illness-is-merely-the-bitter-which-a-wise-providence-mingles-in-the/) [James Holman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-holman/) > [What consoles one nowadays is not repentance but pleasure. Repentance is quite out of date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/what-consoles-one-nowadays-is-not-repentance-but-pleasure-repentance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If thou suffer injustice, console thyself; the true unhappiness is in doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/if-thou-suffer-injustice-console-thyself-the-true-unhappiness-is-in/) [Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/) > [We didn't have our online service developed. We had never shipped a console game before as a company. So we were developing a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-allard/we-didn-t-have-our-online-service-developed-we-had-never-shipped-a/) [J Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-allard/) > [There are those who think that Zeffirelli's Hamlet is the way to treat Shakespeare. I think that cinema can handle much more. We somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/there-are-those-who-think-that-zeffirelli-s-hamlet-is-the-way-to/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [If you are called upon to play a church service, it is a greater honor than if you were to play a concert on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/if-you-are-called-upon-to-play-a-church-service-it-is-a-greater-honor/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [I have no direct knowledge of this, but I suspect that Apple will launch a living room product that redefines people's expectations really strongly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabe-newell/i-have-no-direct-knowledge-of-this-but-i-suspect-that-apple-will/) [Gabe Newell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabe-newell/) > [“She is embarrassed to be alive and no one on earth can fully console her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-trevor/she-is-embarrassed-to-be-alive-and-no-one-on-earth-can-fully-console/) [William Trevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-trevor/) > [Yes, and when the love of life disappears, no meaning can console us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-and-when-the-love-of-life-disappears-no-meaning-can-console-us/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [As to London we must console ourselves with the thought that if life outside is less poetic than it was in the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/as-to-london-we-must-console-ourselves-with-the-thought-that-if-life/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Alcohol doesn't console, it doesn't fill up anyone's psychological gaps, all it replaces is the lack of God. It doesn't comfort man. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/alcohol-doesn-t-console-it-doesn-t-fill-up-anyone-s-psychological/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More by Hosea Ballou > [Purity in person and in morals is true godliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/purity-in-person-and-in-morals-is-true-godliness/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Envy may justly be called "the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity;" it is the most acid fruit that grows on the stock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/envy-may-justly-be-called-the-gall-of-bitterness-and-bond-of-iniquity/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Be circumspect in your dealings, and let the seed you plant be the offspring of prudence and care; thus fruit follows the fair blossom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/be-circumspect-in-your-dealings-and-let-the-seed-you-plant-be-the/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Honest and courageous people have very little to say about either their courage or their honesty. The sun has no need to boast of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/honest-and-courageous-people-have-very-little-to-say-about-either/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [The cloudy weather melts at length into beauty, and the brightest smiles of the heart are born of its tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/the-cloudy-weather-melts-at-length-into-beauty-and-the-brightest/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Servility is disgusting to a truly noble character, and engenders only contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/servility-is-disgusting-to-a-truly-noble-character-and-engenders-only/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Obedience sums up our entire duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/obedience-sums-up-our-entire-duty/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Too many people embrace religion from the same motives that they take a companion in wedlock, not from true love of the person, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/too-many-people-embrace-religion-from-the-same-motives-that-they-take/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Man, being not only a religious, but also a social being, requires for the promotion of his rational happiness religious institutions, which, while they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/man-being-not-only-a-religious-but-also-a-social-being-requires-for/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Brevity and conciseness are the parents of correction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/brevity-and-conciseness-are-the-parents-of-correction/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [There is one court whose findings are incontrovertible, and whose sessions are held in the chambers of our own breast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/there-is-one-court-whose-findings-are-incontrovertible-and-whose/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [“Kecurigaan selalu menjadi musuh kebahagiaan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/kecurigaan-selalu-menjadi-musuh-kebahagiaan/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Mystery and innocence are not akin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/mystery-and-innocence-are-not-akin/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Obedience and resignation are our personal offerings upon the altar of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/obedience-and-resignation-are-our-personal-offerings-upon-the-altar/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Liberality should be tempered with judgment, not with profuseness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/liberality-should-be-tempered-with-judgment-not-with-profuseness/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) [Explore all 135 Hosea Ballou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) ## More Affliction quotes > [I don't feel insecure about any of this work anymore. Maybe I don't have what I had when I was younger. I'm not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/i-don-t-feel-insecure-about-any-of-this-work-anymore-maybe-i-don-t/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-nothing-in-afflictions-which-ought-to-disturb-our-joy/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Henceforth, I'll bear Affliction till it do cry out itself, 'Enough, enough, and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/henceforth-i-ll-bear-affliction-till-it-do-cry-out-itself-enough/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Aimee Parkison offers a distinct new voice to contemporary fiction. Her seductive stories explore childhood as a realm of sorrows, and reveal the afflictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-anshaw/aimee-parkison-offers-a-distinct-new-voice-to-contemporary-fiction/) [Carol Anshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-anshaw/) > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and-may-none-fail-because-of/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [We are infinitely more than our limitations and afflictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/we-are-infinitely-more-than-our-limitations-and-afflictions/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [God measures out affliction to our need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/god-measures-out-affliction-to-our-need/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [Afflictions make the heart more deep, more experimental, more knowing and profound, and so, more able to hold, to contain, and beat more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/afflictions-make-the-heart-more-deep-more-experimental-more-knowing/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Religion prescribes to every miserable man the means of bettering his condition; nay, it shows him that the bearing of his afflictions as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/religion-prescribes-to-every-miserable-man-the-means-of-bettering-his/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Revolution will free society of its afflictions, while science will free the individual of his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/revolution-will-free-society-of-its-afflictions-while-science-will/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) [Browse all 598 Affliction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A wise Providence consoles our present afflictions by joys borrowed from the future.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hosea Ballou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-afflictions-by-joys-borrowed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affliction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-afflictions-by-joys-borrowed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/hosea-ballou-3245_affliction_a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-a_2927956.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/hosea-ballou-3245_affliction_a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-a_2927956.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/hosea-ballou-3245_affliction_a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-a_2927956.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A wise Providence consoles our present afflictions by joys borrowed from the future.” — Hosea Ballou", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hosea Ballou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A wise Providence consoles our present...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-afflictions-by-joys-borrowed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/a-wise-providence-consoles-our-present-afflictions-by-joys-borrowed/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```