30 Days of Hope: Day 22 - Is Your Hut Burning?

Psalm 27:13-14 (New Living Translation)

13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
while I am here in the land of the living.

14 Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.


I am a very rich girl.

You might not think so considering I was a missionary kid living in Haiti, and I currently live in semi-third world South Africa, but yet I KNOW I am rich.

Why you might ask?

I have a Father who continues to amaze me. The hectic "hard" things in my life are still VERY there, yet in my moments of HUGE weakness, HE is so THERE -- comforting, lavishing, connecting, helping, guiding, correcting, encouraging, teaching, and showing me HIS hand and HIS heart. With a Dad like that, who could be poor??

I found a story today that missionaries John & Joyce Hanson gave me 11 years ago:

The only survivor of a shipwreck was 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 seemed forthcoming. 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 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 stunned with grief and anger.



"God, how could you do this to me?" he cried.

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of 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.

John attached this personal note of encouragement for me to the story:

"Be encouraged -- God has good things ahead for you. He guides you, even when you think He isn't there."

So many times I doubt HIM and HIS heart and plan for me, yet His faithfulness in the midst of the storm makes me glad to be HIS rich daughter.