The Lord Provides...

It was a peaceful Sunday morning and I was busy as I had an appointment with the dentist. I hurriedly finished all my work and reached the clinic five minutes early only to wait another forty-five minutes. As I was bored just idly sitting there, I just found a "Tinkle" lying beside me. Wow!! No work to do and a Tinkle beside you was awesome. So without hesitating, I just picked it up and began to read. I came across a very interesting story which I just thought of sharing.
There was once a king who ruled over his kingdom responsibly. In order to see his citizens' day-to-day busy lives, he would disguise himself as an ordinary traveler and roam about his city. Once he decided to go to the filthiest part of his kingdom where only the poorest people resided and they all looked really miserable. Sadly strolling about, he heard a person merrily singing. He was quite surprised to see someone singing happily in such a state. Anyways, he decided to visit him. He happened to be a cobbler and as soon as he saw the traveler who was actually the king, he welcomed him to his little shabby hut. The cobbler had been eating some stale bread and butter and seeing his guest, he offered whatever he had, to him. The king was disgusted at the sight of the hut and the food. Without accepting anything, the king asked the cobbler about his occupation and how he lived so happily despite his poverty. The cobbler told that he used to fix and clean people's footwear throughout the day and from the his earning, he would satisfy his hunger. And as far as the merriness was concerned, he was joyful all the time because he had no worries and he knew that the Lord would Provide. The king was surprised at his conviction but anyways he just decided to test the cobbler.
The next day as the cobbler sat on the roadside to do his shoe-business. A soldier from the kingdom came and asked him for his license without which he would not be allowed to sit there and conduct his business. The king thought that today the cobbler would be starving and would give up the principle of "The Lord Provides" and follow the principle of "The King Provides". However, when the king (in disguise) approached the cobbler's hut in the evening, he heard him singing as merrily as before. He was puzzled as he went over to him and asked, "I heard the king put up a new rule that all cobbler's should have a license in order to conduct their business. Then how come you are so happily eating your daily bread? " The cobbler replied, "As I said, the Lord Provides. Today I saw a group of people going to the forest to collect wood. So I too went with them, collected wood, sold them and earned my money." The king was annoyed but he did not give up.
The next day as the cobbler went to collect wood along with the others, the king's guards came up and told them that they could not collect wood from this forest as it was the rule of the king. The cobbler, not knowing what to do was walking along the streets in the kingdom when he read a notice - " Soldiers wanted in the kingdom." Delighted, he went and took up the post. As soon as the king came to know of this, he began thinking of another plan to outwit him. He introduced another rule. The soldiers would no more be given their daily wages, instead, they would be given their wages on a monthly basis.
Next day evening, the king in the guise of a traveler, confidently walked up to the shabby little hut. But to his surprise, the cobbler was happily singing and eating his daily meal. Astonished, he asked him the reason. The cobbler said that in order to survive he sold his sword. Shocked, the king just walked away determined to put him in prison for his daring act. Next day as the soldiers were practicing, the king (without the disguise) came and announced, " Now, to test your abilities, I want all of you to choose a partner and fight using your swords." Everyone took out their swords and began to fight whereas the cobbler did not have one. His partner was actually a magician. Seeing that he did not have a sword, the cobbler started crying out, " He is a magician!! He made my sword disappear!! " The king was taken aback and felt himself totally defeated.
That evening, the king without his disguise rode to the cobbler's hut and offered him the post of his own Minister. The cobbler was totally surprised. After understanding the entire series of events, he was happy and grateful. The king said that the main reason he was happy with him was because he had no worries as he was completely dependent on the Lord and knew that he would never go hungry.Now, being totally convinced, the king along with the cobbler said, "The Lord Provides!! "