The story is told of a sole survivor of a shipwreck who washed up on a small, uninhabited island. Day after day he prayed for God to rescue him. Day after day he scanned the horizon for help. Day after day, he was left alone on the island.
Realizing he needed to make the best of a bad situation, he built a little hut of driftwood to protect himself from the elements. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home and found his little hut in flames. It was not much, but it was all he had. Everything was lost. He was shocked with grief and filled with anger. “God, how could you do this to me!” he cried.
Early the next day he awakened to the sound of a ship approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. “How did you know I was here?” he asked. Their answer shocked him even more than the fire. “We saw your smoke signal,” they said.
Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
For Believers, even the apparent hard spot is nothing more than a prelude to God’s answer to prayer. The Bible is filled with examples:
- If Joseph had not been sold into Egypt, the Israelites would never have been saved from famine.
- If Peter had caught all the fish he could handle before midnight, he would have cleaned his nets early and gone home without seeing Jesus in the morning.
- If Moses had not spent 40 years in the desert, he would never have known how much he needed God.
What has happened in your life that you see as a hard spot? Someday you will be able to look back on it and realize it too turned out to be just a smoke signal before God’s deliverance.
Lonnie Davis