The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew
up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in
his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend
would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done
something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his
friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.
Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which
the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" And proceeded to send his friend to
jail. About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have
known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village.
They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the
stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was
missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than
whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.
As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and
felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to
speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was
blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And
so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do
this."
"No," his friend replied, "This is good!" "What do you mean, 'This is good'? How
could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
"If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you."
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to His purpose." (Rom. 8:28)
Situations may not always seem pleasant while we are in them, but the promise of
God is clear. If we love Him and live our lives according to His precepts, even
that which seems to be bleak and hopeless will be turned by God for His glory
and our benefit. Hold on, God is faithful! May God bless you this week as you
seek His will in every situation.
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
Thanks to Sherry M. Keith-Rudd SMKeith@aol.com
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.