This is Good!

I received the following in an email from Dad:

An old 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 him 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."

- Author Unknown

Sunday night we had in service with us Bro. Robert Dansby, pastor in Grants Pass, Oregon. The title of his message was, "That Happened to Me." He shared many things that have happened in his life, starting with a treed bear, joyful times, and difficult times. But through it all, he has clung to Romans 8:28 "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." Just like the story above, even when we don't think it's good, God is working it for our good. It's not what happens to us in life, but how we react that makes the difference.

On the way home, Les asked, "Do you ever question God about what you've been through with Rod and your Mom?" I thought about it, it's a hard question. I definitely miss Mom and Rod, many times I'll think "I wish Rod could see or hear this..." or "I wish I could talk to Mom about that..." but questioning God doesn't do me any good. I choose to trust and say "This is Good" even when it doesn't feel like it or I don't understand. Somehow, I have to trust that God has worked it for my good. So I'll trust His heart...

Trust His Heart

All things work for the good
Though sometimes we can't
See how they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth
Our Father knows what's best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just can't see Him,
Remember He's still on the throne

Chorus:

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His Heart

He sees the master plan
He holds the future in His hand,
Don't live as those who have no hope,
While our hope is found in Him.
We see the present clearly
But He sees the first and last
And like a tapestry He's weaving you and me,
To someday be just like Him

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His Heart

He alone is faithful and true
He alone knows what is best for you

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His Heart

Written by: Babbie Mason and Eddie Carswell