Life May not Always Be Pleasant

The story is told of a Sultan who had a childhood friend with whom he grew up. This friend had a different way of looking at every situation that ever occured in his life, be it positive or negative, and remarking,''This is good!''. One day the Sultan and his friend were on a hunting trip. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the Sultan. In preparing one of the guns, the friend had apparently done something wrong, for after taking the gun from his friend, the Sultan's thumb was blown off when the Sultan fired it. Examining the situation the friend as usual remarked, ''This is good!'' 

To which the Sultan replied angrily, ''No, this is NOT good!'' and put his friend in jail. A year later, the Sultan was hunting in a dangerous area. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set fire to the wood, they noticed that the Sultan's thumb was missing. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone was less than whole. So after untying the king, they sent him on his way. As he returned home, he was reminded of the even that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his freind. Immediately, he went to the jail to speak with his friend.  ''You were right,'' the Sultan 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 sorri 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!