Everything that God does is for the better.
There once was a King and he had an advisor, who really believed in God. Whatever happened, the advisor always kept saying, “Everything that happens is for the Better. God arranges everything in a good and wise way: if we attain something, that’s good, if we don’t, even better.”
When the King’s plans failed, the advisor would say, “It’s for the better!” At these moments the king did not like to hear such words, “It cannot be that when something bad happens and we are unsuccessful everything is for our good.”
Once they were walking in the forest talking, when unnoticeably went deep into a thicket. The king started looking for a path and stepped on a thorn of a very poisonous plant. The advisor pulled out a dagger without any delay, cut off the spiked toe, and said, “God did everything so well!”
The king was furious, “You have cut my toe off, how can this be good?” The advisor replied, “If I did not cut it off, the poison would have spread throughout the body, and you would have died.”
These words did not appease the king and he dismissed the advisor, saying that he does not want to see nor hear him anymore.
Continuing the road alone, the king tried to get out of the thicket. But unfortunately at that time in that place a very violent tribe of savages had a festival for which they only lacked a suitable oblation. The king was kidnapped and taken to the altar. Savages began to prepare for the ritual. But suddenly, unexpectedly to the king, they released him with a disgruntled cry that the oblation turned out to be incomplete – it was missing a toe.
Frightened, but alive, the king found his way to the palace and immediately called the advisor. Giving him generous gifts, the king said, “You have uttered wise things, but explain me, what good was in dismissing you in the woods?” The advisor replied, “It was very good, o king, that you’ve dismissed me: If I had stayed with you, the savages would have let you go, but would have kept me.”
From that very moment the king also started to believe in the wisdom of the divine plan.
