THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY

There is this story about an old man who lived in the country with his son. He had a beautiful horse that he loved dearly. One day a rich man was passing through and saw this beautiful horse. He offered the man a lot of money for the horse but the man refused to sell. Then not too long afterwards the horse broke through the fence and ran away. The village people came and said how sorry they were; they said, “If only you had sold the horse to the rich man at least you would have the money. Sorry this happened to you, this is terrible.” The old man said, “Good or bad, who knows?” A couple of weeks later the horse returned and he had six or seven wild horses with him. The village people said to him, “How wonderful, now you have your horse back and you have more horses. This is great!” The old man said, “Good or bad, who knows?” One day while trying to tame one of the wild horses the old man’s son fell and broke his leg. The son walked with a limp from that day on. The village people came with their sympathy and tears because the man’s son had been injured and now was crippled. They said, “This is the worst thing that could have happened.” The old man said, “Good or bad, who knows?” A war broke out and all young men were being recruited to fight, except those who had some type of limitation, like the old man’s son who walked with a limp. The village people were happy for the old man, they said, “It is a blessing that your only son will not have to leave you.” And the old man said, “Good or bad, who knows?” I could go on and on with this story because that is how life works. When bad or good things happen in our life, we must know that God is in control of both. All good things come from God, and if he allows what we think is bad, he still is in control. I know from experience sometimes what you think is the worst thing that could happen to you, can turn out to be the best thing that has ever happened to you. And what we may think is the best thing that has happened, could very well be the worst.  The point is, if it’s good, thank God, and if you think it’s bad, thank God. Don’t be like the village people and let life determine your joy. The good news is that when the Holy Spirit lives in you, you can go to Him for truth and wisdom, because good or bad, only God knows. Just something to think about. Much Love……