Have you heard the ancient parable of the farmer and his son? It goes something like this . . .

Once there was an old farmer, who lived in a small village with his son and their horse. One day, the horse ran away. The farmer’s neighbors came to console their friend. “We heard you lost your horse. That’s terrible!“ they said.

The farmer surprisingly replied, “Who’s to say what’s good or bad?“ 

The next day the horse returned with two wild horses.

“What good fortune!“ said the neighbors. “Now you have more horses than before.“

“Who’s to say what’s good or bad?“ the farmer said again.

Several days later, the boy was working with one of the wild horses when he was thrown from it and broke his leg. Again, the neighbors came to console their friend. “We are so sorry to hear the bad news about your son,“ they said.

 “Who’s to say what’s good or bad?“

Just a few days later, the king was rounding up soldiers for a battle that would surely take the lives of many young men. But, because of the boy’s broken leg, The farmer’s son wasn’t conscripted. 

And so the story goes. The farmer looks at all of life and refuses to judge his circumstances.

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Is it good or bad?

Unlike the farmer, I’m quick to assign a value of “good” or “bad” to most things in my life. But all through Scripture, I see God using what I would define as bad to bring about His good plans and purposes.

He used the trafficking of Joseph to save many lives. He used the widowhood of Ruth and Naomi to lead them to Bethlehem, where Ruth became an ancestress of Jesus. He used a woman’s shame to bring her alone to a well in the midday sun. There, she met Jesus, Who satisfied her thirsty soul. And most notably, God used the horrific death of Jesus on the cross to bring salvation and eternal life to all who believe in Him. 

Paul assures us that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God.” (Romans 8:28 NLT) Even with this knowledge, I struggle to give thanks for the painful parts of my story. But I’m learning. 

God used infertility to bring us our first two children through adoption. He used difficulties in our marriage to minister to friends and church members with similar issues. He has taken my story of sexual abuse and turned it into a Bible study to help other sexually broken women experience freedom and healing. 

A zoomed-out perspective

God has a way of taking our brokenness and turning it into beauty. After many years of walking with Him and seeing His faithfulness, God gently reminds me to give thanks in the mess. I believe He is mysteriously weaving the exciting and the mundane, the beautiful and the broken, the joyful and the disappointing into lives worth living and stories worth telling. 

We’re often focused on the here and now. But if we could zoom out, we might gain a perspective like our friend, the farmer. Or even like the apostle Paul, who reminds us,

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? … No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35, 37-39 NLT

No matter how you look at it, I’d say that’s good.

Meet Teresa Whiting

Where to find her . . .

• Website

Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.

If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.

Creating Ripples

If you would like to cultivate rhythms in addition to gratitude that will empower you live on mission in your neighborhood, check out Cultivating a Missional Life: A 30-Day Devotional to Gently Help You Open Your Heart, Home, and Life to Your Neighbors. This small book will help you make a big impact in your neighborhood as you learn to let missional living flow from the inside out. Get the 30-day missional living challenge free when you purchase the book.