Sound familiar?

Unless you have been living under a rock somewhere in the deep forest, you will have found yourself uttering those very words many times in the past. We are all subject to bad luck or bad fortune from time to time. Often we shake our head in despair, feeling down and dejected, wondering if we will ever recover. Eventually, things work out and we get back on our feet, usually in a much better situation than we were in prior to our misfortune.

Next time you think that you have problems, remember that sometimes those problems can actually save our life.

The story is about a king in Africa 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 out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, 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 an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. The tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set the 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, 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,” explained the king.

“No,” his friend replied. “This is good!”

“What do you mean? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year? asked the bewildered king.

“If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you,” replied the friend.

So you see, even in our darkest hour, there is always hope that things will get better and that our challenges will actually result in a positive change in our life. Next time you are feeling as if your life will never recover from a setback, think about the king’s friend and try to say, “This is good!”