Some years ago, our parish priest told the story of an old man who owned a white horse. The old man trusted God in all things, and his faithfulness was rewarded. I recalled the story recently, found it online, and thought I'd share it with you. May we all trust in God more!
One day, a white stallion rode into the paddocks of an old man, and all the villagers had congratulated him on such good fortune.
The old man had only offered this in response: “Is it a curse or a blessing? All we can see is a sliver. Who but God can know it's purpose and see what will come next?”
Then one day the white horse ran off, the townsfolk were convinced the white stallion had been a curse. But the old man always lived, surrendered, and satisfied in the will of God alone, saying: “I cannot see as He sees. Who but God can know it's purpose and see what will come next?”
A few days later, the horse returned with a dozen more horses, and the townsfolk declared it a blessing that the old man had acquired so many new horses for free. Yet the old man said, “It is as He wills and I give thanks for His will.”
One day, the old man's only son broke his leg when he was thrown from the white stallion. The townfolk all bemoaned the bad fortune of that white stallion. And the old man had only offered, “We’ll see. We’ll see. It is as He wills and I give thanks for His will.”
Then a draft for a war took all the young men of the village off to battle, but the son with the broken leg was allowed to stay home. All the villagers proclaimed the good fortune of that white horse. And the old man said but this, “We see only a sliver of the sum. We cannot see how the bad might be good. God is sovereign and He is good and He sees and work all things together for good.”
Isn't that the truth? From the fall of Adam and Eve, we have been tempted by the devil to believe that we can "see" as God sees, yet the reality is that only God can see all. May we all trust in Him more!
