The blessing of a broken leg

Mr. McConkey told of a lady summering in Switzerland who went for a stroll and came to a shepherd’s fold. She looked in at the door. There sat the shepherd and nearby on a pile of straw lay a single sheep seemingly in suffering. Asking what was the trouble, she was told that the lamb’s leg was broken. The shepherd said that he himself had broken it. It was a most wayward animal and would not follow, not obey and misled the others. He had had experience with sheep of this kind, so he broke one of its legs. The first day when he took it food, it tried to bite him. He let it lie for a couple of days then went back to it. It not only took the food but licked his hand, showing every sign of submission and affection. He said when it was well, it would be the model sheep of the flock. It had learned obedience through suffering. Many times out of our very agony of heart, the God of love seeks to bring into our lives the supremest blessing that can enrich and glorify our lives -- the blessing of a human will yielded to the will of God. Scripture assures God’s children that afflictions are for their profit ‘that we might be partakers of his holiness’ and that we might ‘yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness.’

Quiet Hour Stories with Scripture Readings -- Keith L. Brooks, page 51