The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed every day for God to bring rescue and desperately scanned the horizon for help, but rescue seemed more and more a remote possibility.
He finally built a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after hunting for food, he arrived back to find his hut in flames, burning to the ground. His only comfort and all his belongings were going up in smoke. Everything was lost and he was stunned with grief and anger. “Oh God, how could this happen to me!” he cried.
Early the next day he was awakened by an unfamiliar sound. A ship was approaching the island. He was rescued! He later asked how they found him. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.
What seems like a bitter defeat is often a blessing in disguise. When we have a setback, any disappointment or difficulty, we should remember that our “hut burning to the ground” may be the smoke signal that ultimately brings delivery from hardship and distress.
— LivingEman staff