burned out or fired up?

The lone survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none came. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions. But one day, after scavenging for food, he came home to find his hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. “God, how could you do this to me?” he cried. Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that 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. Have you ever had something you’ve cared about or worked for stripped away from you? Our perception of what is good for us is often flawed. Many times it’s rooted in feelings of inferiority or fear, so much so that we may even cling to inhabiting an island that we know isn’t healthy for us. Human beings have acute short-sightedness when it comes to seeing the big picture. Loss equates to great pain and, if you put your “vision lenses” on, great gain. Something or someone is being purged out of your life for a reason. We scream out in anger and frustration to God because we don’t understand why. Thank God that, despite the fact that we think we know what’s best for our lives, there are greater forces at work advocating for us whether we appreciate it or not. Every time you go down in flames is a chance for you to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Thomas Edison said it best: “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”