The Burning Hut

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, deserted island. Day after day he prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but no help ever came.

The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, but still the man prayed and maintained his faith in the Lord for his rescue.

A few days after he was washed up on the beach, he managed to build a rickety old hut. It wasn't much, but at least it would give him some protection from the elements. And it gave him a place to put his few meager belongings.

The hut itself was built out of driftwood and the roof was made out of palm leaves, but unfortunately they kept blowing off because of the strong winds.

But then one day, late in the afternoon after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, everything burned and the smoke drifting up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was in total shock. He had never before experienced the crushing sadness that had suddenly engulfed his entire body. Stunned and with incredible grief, he collapsed to the ground.

One of the few possessions he had was a small little magnifying glass and it appeared that the bright afternoon sunlight had shined through the glass and ignited the few papers that he had. Now he had absolutely nothing, nothing at all. Not only was the hut gone, but also gone were the few clothes he had, the little bit of food he had managed to scrape up, and most of all the fresh rain water that had taken him months to save.

Sobbing, he sank to his knees and burying his face in the sand cried out, God, how could you do this to me! Why are you persecuting me so? Why have you abandon me?

In total despair the man laid there for several hours weeping uncontrollably, the whole time thinking that all was lost and that it was no use to go on. All hope was gone. Suddenly he wanted his life to end. He didn't want to go on. Sobbing, he thought to himself that he would end it in the morning. Just walk out into the sea and not stop. I'll do it in the morning, were his last thoughts as sleep finally overtook him and he slept through the night in utter exhaustion.

Very early the next morning something woke him. He knew before he even opened his eyes that something was very different. He didn't know what it was but every cell in his body was aware of it. Then slowly he opened his eyes and since he was facing the sea, the very first thing that he saw was a huge ship. A massive ship. The biggest ship he had ever seen. And it was lying just a few hundred yards from the beach.

And there was something else to. There was also a large row boat coming right at him. And the row boat had about eight men in it! They had come to rescue him! But how? How did they know he was even here?

As the men in the boat arrived on the beach, the exuberant man leaping in the air with joy, kept asking his rescuers, "How did you know I was here"? How did you find me?

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

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It is easy to get discouraged when things are going badly. But we should never forget that God is always at work in our lives; even in the midst of great pain and suffering. There isn't a second of the day that he isn't aware of everything going on in your life. So remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground, it just might be a situation that God is using to achieve a most marvelous purpose in your life.


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