For my weekly quiet time, I listened to a sermon by Bob Davis on 1 Samuel 3. He said that, when he asks those who are truly close to the Lord if God ever failed them, they answered "no" without hesitation.
At first, I didn't like this statement. It's not really falsifiable, since Davis can easily say that those who feel God failed them are not really close to God. And I'm sure he can pick out spots in anyone's life where that person is lacking in righteousness. But Davis then went on to say that those who are truly close to God admit that life is hard. Some will even say that they've gone hungry at times.
What is the source of this kind of faith: to refuse to hate God, even when things are going badly? Is it that God works things out in the end? Or that they admire and love God, regardless of their experiences? Or what exactly?