Giving thanks.
THE KING AND HIS FRIEND
An African king had a close friend who had the habit of remarking “this
is good”, about every occurrence in life no matter what it was. One day
the king and his friend were out hunting. The king’s friend loaded a
gun and handed it to the king, alas he loaded it wrong , when the
king fired it, his thumb was blown off.
“This is good!” exclaimed his friend.
Horrified and bleeding, the king shouted, “How can this be
good?”, and the king locked his friend in prison.
A year later the king went hunting by himself. 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 came near to set fire
to the wood, they noticed the king was missing a thumb. Being
superstitious, they untied the king and sent him on his way.
Full of remorse the king rushed to the prison to release his friend.
“You were right, it was good” the king said.
The king told his friend how the missing thumb saved his life and
added, “I feel so sad that I locked you in jail. What a foolish
thing to do”
“No! this is good!” responded his delighted friend.
“Oh, how could that be good my friend, I did a terrible injustice to you, while I
owe you my very life”.
“It is good” said his friend, “if I were not in jail, I would have been
hunting with you, and I would be dinner!”
Source unknown
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
- Posted in: Practical Beliefs
- Tagged: Bible, Christian, giving thanks, God, Jesus, Religion, thanks for all things, thanks in trouble
Saved By Faith In Christ 
that was a wonderful post
Hi Terry, Thank you!
This is good! I loved the story! It’s a great reminder that in all circumstances, God will use both the good and the bad things to His advantage.
Romans 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
God Bless!
Joshua J. Huffman
Hi Joshua, Thanks for the encouraging comments, and for checking out my article.
Very nice. This may be an illustration for me to use some Sunday morning!
Hi Dave, That is exciting to hear. I’m glad you found this story useful. Take care.
I just noticed you live in Canandaigua. I grew up in Syracuse and started a church on the west end of Rochester. Canandaigua is a very nice place.
Good morning Leon,
That was a very powerful story you wrote in this presentation. One motif I gained from this story is that gratitude is not limited to the good and beautiful things, but also our darkest moments. When the king sinned against his friend by sending him to prison, the friend saw it as a blessing in disguise, because it actually saved her life. I love the ending, because it reminded me of the part in the Bible where one of the apostles were persecuted and put in prison for sharing the Gospel. In the midst of his situation, Peter viewed it as another opportunity to write portions of the Scriptures and letters to the early church, and continue to spread the Gospel.
God can use any given situation to help us serve Him and others, including our own sins. Take this from a teenager who is legally blind. Over time, God has used my disability as a way to inspire others through my lifestyle, my eagerness to learn, my intellectual and spiritual insights, and my talents in mathematics, writing, singing, and playing music. One thing we should all be grateful for this Thanksgiving is that there are blessings packaged inside what seems like a curse or a “punishment”. Whatever Satan means for evil, God will use that for our good. Even this Covid pandemic. We may not know how, and it may not make sense, but God is in control of every situation.
Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
Hi Maia,
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This story also reminds me of the life of Joseph. Every time something bad or discouraging happened in his life, God used it as an opportunity for growth and promotion. 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.