In life we will inevitably encounter seemingly impossible situations and circumstances. The paths we have chosen in life, however carefully, will at times lead us to confront insurmountable obstacles. These obstacles may take the form of people, events, places, or situations even when we think that we’ve plan for every contingency. When we inevitably fail to find solutions to our circumstances, our first instinct is to despair and seek someone to blame. We blame God, the people around us, even ourselves.
Billy Graham tells the story of a man who became shipwrecked on a deserted island many years ago. Upon reaching safety, the man built a hut and filled it with all the supplies he’d managed to save from his boat before it was wrecked. He built a fire and each day he would watch and wait for some sign of a ship or airplane passing by. He prayed to God for help. Some days he would get discouraged and wonder if he would ever get off that island, but still … he prayed.
Then one day while he was exploring the other side of the island, he noticed some smoke coming from the direction of his hut. With sudden realization and horror, the man ran as fast as he could back to the hut only to find it and all his supplies caught in a blaze of fire. He sank to his knees, realizing that everything he’d needed to survive had gone up in a pillar of black smoke.
He shook his fist skyward demanding to know why God had allowed this to happen. Then he lowered his head in dispair.
Several hours later as the man gazed out into the endless ocean, a small speck appeared on the horizon. The man watched elated as a ship grew closer and closer. He yelled greetings as a landing party arrived, took him onboard, and told him that they were plotting a different course but noticed smoke off in the distance and thought the smoke was a signal for help.
It was then the man knew that God had sacrificed his meager possessions on the island for a much better future elsewhere.
This life is full of trials; storms that erupt suddenly leaving us to struggle to merely stay afloat. We may not understand what God is doing, but we can keep our confidence in His plan for our lives.
“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'”
(Jeremiah 29:11 NASB)
So where do you go to find peace and security in the midst of the struggles of this life? There is only One who can provide lasting refuge. Just One! His name is Jesus Christ. In the midst of the storms of this life, I choose to place my hope in Jesus.
R. S. Gullett 