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THIS IS GOOD!

The story is told of a king 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 on a hunting expedition. The friend
would load and prepare the guns for the king. In preparing one of the guns,
the friend had apparently done something wrong, 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 a dangerous area. Cannibals
captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked
some wood, set up a stake and bound him to it. As they approached 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 after
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."

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!

— Author Unknown

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