"Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining"

Meaning:

Something good always comes out of a bad situation.

Origin:

The term cloud with silver lining refers to a cloud with sunshine glowing behind it, suggesting that something good (the sun) will appear from the bad thing (the cloud).

John Milton first crafted the phrase 'silver lining' in Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634

I see ye visibly, and now believe
That he, the Supreme Good, to whom all things ill
Are but as slavish officers of vengeance,
Would send a glistering guardian, if need were
To keep my life and honour unassailed.
Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night?
I did not err; there does a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night,
And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.

'Clouds' and 'silver linings' were often used in literature from then onward, these are also referred to as Milton's clouds. It isn't until the days of Victoria's England that we began to hear the phrase tat is commonly used today. This phrase can be used to comfort a person who is in a bad situation.

Below: A cloud with 'silver lining'