I
iluvmybabies
Guest
My friend’s priest sent this to us:
"Gam Zu La’tova
In light of the last two “Lifts” on why bad things happen, I thought I’d share something I shared a couple of years ago. It’s a story by Rabbi Yaakov Saloman that I think puts a final perspective on how to view life’s difficulties, problems and tragedies.
The story goes that there was a king who loved to hunt. When the king would go hunting, he would always take his favorite servant. The servant was the kind of person that always seemed to have a smile, a positive attitude and the ability to see the best in everything. The servant would often be heard saying in Hebrew, “Gam zu la’tova” which in English means “It’s all for the best.”
One day as the king and servant were hunting, the servant’s gun misfired and accidentally blew off one of the king’s toes. When the king looked down to see that one of his toes was gone, the servant immediately responded with “Gam zu la’tova,” it’s all for the best. The king was furious! “How can you say, ‘it’s all for the best,’ when it’s my toe that is gone? You might be able to say that when something bad happens to you….but this happened to me.” And immediately the king threw the well-meaning servant into jail.
Sometime later, the king wanted to go hunting again. Since his favorite servant was in jail, the king had to go hunting alone. As the king hunted, he suddenly found himself surrounded and captured by a tribe of vicious cannibals. As the cannibals prepared to “have the king for lunch” they noticed that the king was missing a toe. The cannibals stopped their mealtime preparations, because they could not eat someone who was “damaged goods.” The cannibals had no option but to let the king go.
As the king walked away, he thought to himself, “It’s amazing. My servant was right. When he said that it was all for the best, who knew that later it truly would be?” So the king returned to the town and immediately released the servant from prison. He then shared the story of how the absent toe really had worked for the best and ultimately saved the king’s life.
But then the king asked the servant, “There’s one thing I don’t understand. I understand how losing my toe worked out to be the best for me. But explain to me how you going to jail could possibly be the best for you?” The servant looked at the king and said, “That’s easy! You see, I have all my toes. If I were not in jail, I would have gone with you on that hunting trip and we both would have been captured and instead of them eating you….they would have eaten me. You see, even me going to jail was all for the best.”1
The story echoes a well-known New Testament passage written by Paul who wrote, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”2
I don’t know what trouble or difficulty you’re facing today….but God does. He promises to those who are seeking to do life His way….every situation, every difficulty, every missing toe, is somehow, some way being miraculously converted into something that will ultimately work for your good.
You and I have a choice everyday. We can choose to see our problems and difficulties as evidence that God doesn’t love us and is punishing us, or we can see them as opportunities for God to show His love, approval and acceptance and watch Him transform them into something amazing on our behalf.
The servant was right. Whether it’s a missing toe, a jail sentence or whatever you’re facing, it’s always “Gam zu la’tova.” It’s all for the best!"
Just wanted to share…
"Gam Zu La’tova
In light of the last two “Lifts” on why bad things happen, I thought I’d share something I shared a couple of years ago. It’s a story by Rabbi Yaakov Saloman that I think puts a final perspective on how to view life’s difficulties, problems and tragedies.
The story goes that there was a king who loved to hunt. When the king would go hunting, he would always take his favorite servant. The servant was the kind of person that always seemed to have a smile, a positive attitude and the ability to see the best in everything. The servant would often be heard saying in Hebrew, “Gam zu la’tova” which in English means “It’s all for the best.”
One day as the king and servant were hunting, the servant’s gun misfired and accidentally blew off one of the king’s toes. When the king looked down to see that one of his toes was gone, the servant immediately responded with “Gam zu la’tova,” it’s all for the best. The king was furious! “How can you say, ‘it’s all for the best,’ when it’s my toe that is gone? You might be able to say that when something bad happens to you….but this happened to me.” And immediately the king threw the well-meaning servant into jail.
Sometime later, the king wanted to go hunting again. Since his favorite servant was in jail, the king had to go hunting alone. As the king hunted, he suddenly found himself surrounded and captured by a tribe of vicious cannibals. As the cannibals prepared to “have the king for lunch” they noticed that the king was missing a toe. The cannibals stopped their mealtime preparations, because they could not eat someone who was “damaged goods.” The cannibals had no option but to let the king go.
As the king walked away, he thought to himself, “It’s amazing. My servant was right. When he said that it was all for the best, who knew that later it truly would be?” So the king returned to the town and immediately released the servant from prison. He then shared the story of how the absent toe really had worked for the best and ultimately saved the king’s life.
But then the king asked the servant, “There’s one thing I don’t understand. I understand how losing my toe worked out to be the best for me. But explain to me how you going to jail could possibly be the best for you?” The servant looked at the king and said, “That’s easy! You see, I have all my toes. If I were not in jail, I would have gone with you on that hunting trip and we both would have been captured and instead of them eating you….they would have eaten me. You see, even me going to jail was all for the best.”1
The story echoes a well-known New Testament passage written by Paul who wrote, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”2
I don’t know what trouble or difficulty you’re facing today….but God does. He promises to those who are seeking to do life His way….every situation, every difficulty, every missing toe, is somehow, some way being miraculously converted into something that will ultimately work for your good.
You and I have a choice everyday. We can choose to see our problems and difficulties as evidence that God doesn’t love us and is punishing us, or we can see them as opportunities for God to show His love, approval and acceptance and watch Him transform them into something amazing on our behalf.
The servant was right. Whether it’s a missing toe, a jail sentence or whatever you’re facing, it’s always “Gam zu la’tova.” It’s all for the best!"
Just wanted to share…
*