How Do You Know

There is an ancient Chinese legend about an old man and his only son who lived in a small rural village. One night the old man's horse escaped and his  neighbors came to comfort him in his loss. "How do you know this is a bad thing?" he asked them.       

Several days later his horse returned with a herd of wild horses. Now his neighbors came to congratulate the farmer for his good fortune. But the old man said, "How do you know this is a good thing?"    

While his son was trying to tame one of the wild horses, he was thrown off and the fall broke his leg. Again his friends gathered in sympathy to bemoan his new misfortune. But the old man again asked, "How do you know this is a bad thing?"    

Soon a warlord came to recruit able-bodied young men for his army, and the farmer's son escaped conscription because of his broken leg. In true fashion, the farmer's neighbors came and expressed their pleasure over the man's good luck. "How do you know it's a good thing?" he asked. The story could go on forever. Good fortune can quickly turn on you and bad fortune may be a blessing in disguise. From a worldly perspective this is how it seems.       

Nothing in this world is certain. No one knows what the morrow may bring. With all too great frequency and for no apparent reason, bad things happen to good people.  From the story of Job we understand that men have striven to understand this from as far back as we have history.  We may not understand why some things happen as they do, but we know that God is watching over us and that He cares about ( I Pet. 5:7 ) every aspect of our lives.  He keeps such close watch over us that He even knows the number of hairs left in our heads. ( Luke 12:7 )  This God who cares for us and watches over us has promised we Christians that He will cause,  " all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. " ( Rom. 8:28 )  Therefore brethren, when problems beset us, let us not be distraught like the people of the world, but let us trust God.  He will ultimately make the bad things that happen to all men product a good result for us. 

( edited from email )