A Burning Hut

Mac was thrown from his yacht in a storm.  In desperation he grabbed hold of a piece of floating debris in the emerald water.  When he came to consciousness he was laying on the beach of a small uninhabited island.  Daily and often Mac prayed that God would bring to him a rescuer.  Days turned into weeks while his hope of rescue ebbed.  He built a small hut from driftwood and refuse to give him shelter from the brutal summer heat.  One day, haggard and hopeless and scavenging for something to eat, he saw from the far side of the island his little hut engulfed in flames.  He fell to his knees in tears and anger and cried out “O God why?  Why have you done this to me?”  He went to sleep that evening seething in anger and troubled with doubtful questions.

About dawn the following morning Mac was awakened by a horn blast.  A giant ship!  Help had come!  In tears and gratitude he asked the captain: “How did you find me?”  Captain Sparks responded, “We saw your smoke signal.”

A friend mused over this story: “It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering.  Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground.  It just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God!”

Whatever you may be facing today, you can hear His thoughts and sense His heart in His word.  He really cares.