Is Your Hut Burning?

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small,
uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and
every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed
forthcoming.
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood
to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find
his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had
happened: Everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger.
“God, how could you do this to me?” he cried.
Early next morning, however, he was awakened by the sound of a
ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.
“How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his
rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.
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 pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little
hut is burning to the ground–it just may be a smoke signal that
summons the grace of God.
 
Is Your Hut Burning? – Philosophical Stories