The only survivor¹ of a shipwreck² was washed up on a small,

uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly³ for God to rescue him,

and every day he scanned the horizon for help,

but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted⁴, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of

driftwood to protect him from the elements,

and to store his few possessions. But then one day,

after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.

The worst had happened; everything was lost.

He was stunned⁵ with grief and anger.

"God how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened⁶ by the sound of

a ship that was approaching the island. It 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.

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, next time your little hut is burning to the ground

it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves,

God has a positive answer for it

在一场船难中，唯一的生存者随着潮水，漂流到一座无人岛上。

他天天激动地祈祷神救他能够早日离开此处，回到家乡。

他还每天注视着海上有否可搭救他的人，但却是除了汪洋一片，

什么也没有。

后来，他决定用那片带他到小岛的木头造一个简陋的小木屋

以保护他在这险恶的环境中生存，并且保存他所有剩下的东西。

但有一天，在他捕完食物后，准备回小屋时，

突然发现他的小屋竟然陷在熊熊烈火之中， 大火引起的浓烟不断向天上窜。

最悲惨的是：他所有的一切东西，在这一瞬间通通化为乌有了。

悲痛的他，气愤的对天吶喊着：神啊！你怎么可以这样对待我！

顿时，眼泪从他的眼角中流出。 第二天一早，他被一艘正靠近小岛的船只的鸣笛声所吵醒。

是的，有人来救他了。到了船上时，他问那些船员说：

你怎么知道我在这里？」

因为我们看到了信号般的浓烟。」他们回答说。 人在碰到困难时，很容易会沮丧。

不过无论受到折磨或者痛苦，都不用因此失去信心，

因为上帝一直在我们心里面做着奇妙的工作。

记住：当下一次你的小木屋着火时，

那可能只是上帝美妙恩典的表征而已。

在所有我们所认为负面的事情，

上帝都是有正面答案的。