Things are not always as they appear

There was once a man who was ship-wrecked
and stranded on an island. Every day he prayed
asking God to send someone to rescue him, but
to his disappointment, no one ever came.
Months passed and this man learned how to
survive on the island. During this time, he
accumulated things from the island and stored
them in a hut that he constructed. One day after
hunting for food and returning back to his hut,
much to his dismay he saw that his hut was on
fire along with everything else he owned!
All of his possessions were going up in smoke!
The only thing he had left were the clothes on
his back. Initially he was in shock, and then he
was consumed with anger and rage!

In his fury he threw a fist into the air and began
cursing God and yelling, “God, how could you let
this happen to me? I’ve been praying everyday
for months about being rescued and no one has
come, and now everything that I have is on fire!
How could you do to this to me! Why did you let
this happen?”
Later the man was on his hands and knees
weeping heavily when he happened to look up
and catch sight of a ship coming in his direction.
The man was rescued and as they were heading
back to civilization the man asked the captain,
“How were you able to find me?”
The captain responded, “We were voyaging
across the ocean when we noticed on the
horizon a column of smoke going up. We decided
to go check it out and when we did, that’s when
we found you!”
In life we are going to be confronted with
challenges, problems, and disasters. But keep in
mind that what the devil has meant for bad, God
can transform into your good! What is a
catastrophe can sometimes be a blessing in
disguise. “The righteous cry out, and the Lord
hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken
heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the
Lord delivers him out of them all.” Psalms
34:17-19