The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. 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. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger.
He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?'
Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship 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.
The Moral of This Story:
It's 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.
Sometimes I think God is all about testing - or torturing - people. Other times I think we just have lessons to learn and are given opportunities to do so. I am often reminded of the joke about the flood. Remember that one?
Once there was a great flood and the town was being evacuated as the water rose. There were announcements all over and one neighbor was speaking to another, asking him about his evacuation plans.
"Oh, I'm not leaving," he told his friend. "My God will save me."
The water rose and the streets were impassable. A man in a row boat came by and called to the man still in his house. "Come with us! We'll take you to safety!"
But the man wouldn't go. "My God will save me!" he said and the rowboat passed on by.
The water continued to rise and the man moved to the upstairs level of his house. Another boat came by and offered assistance. Again the man refused, saying, "Oh no, I'm not leaving! My God will save me." And the boat passed by.
Still the water rose until the man was forced out onto his roof. One more boat came through and strongly urged him to leave with them. But still the man refused. "Oh no," he said. "My God will save me!" Frustrated, the boat left.
The water was pooling around the man's feet when the helicopter flew over. "Come aboard and we will take you to safety!" The man refused. "Come with us now or you WILL DROWN!"
The man was adamant. "My God will save me!" And he refused to go.
The floodwaters rose and the man drown. He stood before God in Heaven and asked Him, "God! Why didn't You save me? I had complete faith in You and You let me drown!"
To which God replied, "I sent three rowboats and a helicopter! What more did you want???"
The thing is... I don't know how to tell if God is sending me rowboats or creating smoke signals. Is He creating situations for me to learn to help myself or trying to show me that He has a master plan if I would just chill out and let it unfold?
This train job... this is such a case of sink or swim. This is either going to prove to myself and the world that I CAN do this, or it is going to break me. I predict one of three reactions. I will either grown and become strong, learn some independence and thrive in the new situation... or I will crash and burn completely... or I will burn on the inside while appearing to be holding together because I can't afford to fall apart. Everyone is predicting that I will grow and thrive. Fear and irrational panic are telling me I am going to crash and burn. Internal consensus, silently to the rest of the world, is that I will give a great show of it and few, if anyone, will know otherwise. I don't know if this is my hut burning or if I should be taking the rowboats that are passing by...
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