....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.
A man was on a tuna fishing boat, when all of sudden a huge storm came up on them, the waves got so bad they flipped the boat over. The man washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He was the only survivor. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, everyday he scanned the horizon for help but none seemed forthcoming . Exhausted, he eventually managed to build himself a hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the element of the weather and store the few possessions he did have. Then one day , after scavenging for food, he looked up to see smoke rolling up into the sky. He ran back to his little hut to find it engulfed with flames. The smoke filling the sky, the worst had happened. He was stunned with grief and anger and shouted out, "God how could you do this to me? All my working buddies are dead from the boat wreck, I'm deserted on this island, and I'm probably going to die here. What did I do to deserve this?" However, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. Stunned and confused the man asked his rescuers "How did you even know I was here? The men replied , "We saw your smoke signal." A coast guard had seen the smoke in the sky from his hut burning the day before. . 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, the next time your little hut is burning down to the ground. It just might be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.
When I heard this story, I thought, "Wow, isn't that just how God works?" He'll either arrange or allow something to happen to us that we think is the worst but it could be just the thing that saves us! Is there anything you're having a hard time with? Maybe it's at school with grades or teachers or maybe it's at home. Or maybe it's something worse, something deeper.
1 Peter 1:7 says, "Your troubles have come in order to prove that your faith is real. It is worth more than gold." Gold... everyone knows what gold is. Gold is a precious metal. Gold is beautiful. People all across the world risk their lives in gold mines to find some gold. Gold would make them rich. Sometimes gold has dirt hidden in it. And they'll take the gold and melt the gold and when the gold is melted, any dirt bubbles to the top. Then they remove the dirt. That makes the gold pure. The purer the gold is, the more it's worth. Going through fire makes gold better. Troubles in your life are like the fires that makes gold pure. When your going through "fire" in your life. The bad bubbles to the top, then God can get rid of them. Troubles makes your faith pure, and the purer your faith is, the more glory and praise God will get! When your going through the fire or your hut is burning down, do what Habakkuk says in Habakkuk 3:18. "But I will still be glad , because of what the Lord has done." You can smile through your tears. You can sing through your sorrows . You can float above your troubles. When the going gets tough, rejoice in the Lord. When you feel lonely or sad, rejoice in the Lord! When life looks grim, rejoice in the Lord! Why? Because God works most when your going through the fire. God gives you the strength to fight and push through and come out stronger on the other side. And when that happens; God gets the glory!
Even when your situation looks hopeless, remember that our hope is in the Lord!
And with Him, all things are possible.
A man was on a tuna fishing boat, when all of sudden a huge storm came up on them, the waves got so bad they flipped the boat over. The man washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He was the only survivor. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, everyday he scanned the horizon for help but none seemed forthcoming . Exhausted, he eventually managed to build himself a hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the element of the weather and store the few possessions he did have. Then one day , after scavenging for food, he looked up to see smoke rolling up into the sky. He ran back to his little hut to find it engulfed with flames. The smoke filling the sky, the worst had happened. He was stunned with grief and anger and shouted out, "God how could you do this to me? All my working buddies are dead from the boat wreck, I'm deserted on this island, and I'm probably going to die here. What did I do to deserve this?" However, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. Stunned and confused the man asked his rescuers "How did you even know I was here? The men replied , "We saw your smoke signal." A coast guard had seen the smoke in the sky from his hut burning the day before. . 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, the next time your little hut is burning down to the ground. It just might be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.
When I heard this story, I thought, "Wow, isn't that just how God works?" He'll either arrange or allow something to happen to us that we think is the worst but it could be just the thing that saves us! Is there anything you're having a hard time with? Maybe it's at school with grades or teachers or maybe it's at home. Or maybe it's something worse, something deeper.
1 Peter 1:7 says, "Your troubles have come in order to prove that your faith is real. It is worth more than gold." Gold... everyone knows what gold is. Gold is a precious metal. Gold is beautiful. People all across the world risk their lives in gold mines to find some gold. Gold would make them rich. Sometimes gold has dirt hidden in it. And they'll take the gold and melt the gold and when the gold is melted, any dirt bubbles to the top. Then they remove the dirt. That makes the gold pure. The purer the gold is, the more it's worth. Going through fire makes gold better. Troubles in your life are like the fires that makes gold pure. When your going through "fire" in your life. The bad bubbles to the top, then God can get rid of them. Troubles makes your faith pure, and the purer your faith is, the more glory and praise God will get! When your going through the fire or your hut is burning down, do what Habakkuk says in Habakkuk 3:18. "But I will still be glad , because of what the Lord has done." You can smile through your tears. You can sing through your sorrows . You can float above your troubles. When the going gets tough, rejoice in the Lord. When you feel lonely or sad, rejoice in the Lord! When life looks grim, rejoice in the Lord! Why? Because God works most when your going through the fire. God gives you the strength to fight and push through and come out stronger on the other side. And when that happens; God gets the glory!
Even when your situation looks hopeless, remember that our hope is in the Lord!
And with Him, all things are possible.