The story is told about a king who had a close friend. This friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) by remarking, “This is good, God knows what is best.”

One day, the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king, but he had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, because 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, God knows what is best.” To which the king replied, “No, this is NOT good!” and ordered his soldiers to put his friend into jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured the king and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to it. 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 who was less than whole. So after untying the king, they chased him out of the village.

When the king reached his palace, 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” the king said, “it was good that my thumb was blown off.” And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. “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, God knows what is best.”

“What do you mean, ‘this is good’! How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?”

The king’s friend replied, “Remember that God Almighty knows best and if I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you on that hunting trip.”

The story isn’t true, but the message is. How we need a faith that truly believes that we have a God who is in control. A faith that can say, as Joseph did, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20)

A faith that we can say, as Paul did, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God…” (Romans 8:28)

A faith that we can say, as James did, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” (James 1:2).

It is so easy to look back over our lives and see how God has been there every step of the way, how He has taken care of us and provided for us. But how difficult it is to see God at work in the midst of our pain and suffering. God, increase our faith! Help us to see you in all that we experience and to truly believe that “God knows what is best!”

Have a great day!

Alan Smith