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[Daddysgirl]

When Your Hut's on Fire   

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.  He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him.  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 himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky.  He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?" Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship 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.

The Moral of This Story:  It's 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 our pain and suffering.  Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground.  It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

P.S: You may want to consider passing this on, because you never know who feels as if their hut is on fire today.

[cherokee]

Oh how easy it is to miss the smoke signal when we do not stay focused on the Lord.

Thanks for sharing.

Suzie

[judith collier]

Good way of looking at circumstances. Circumstances are not especially the final truth of situations. Keep your focus on the Lord and trust Him and His Word. Judy

[Vangie]

Thank you Matty for sharing.

[musicman]

I don't know if this works for you guys, but I usually burn other people's bridges to get my message out.

[Ninny]

You are a force to be reckoned with! 
Kathy

Oh and as I've said before, a man of few words! (when you're not in the pub!)

[jg]

Talk about not looking at the circumstances!  Three days ago I was in a car wreck. My car totalled!  I walked away with a few glass cuts in my hand, a knot on my head and a bruise or two on my leg, thats it.  The other guy wasnt hurt either.

The guy who hit me was speeding, he came over the steep hill behind me while I was about to turn left across the highway onto my road, so he decided to go around me instead of slowing down, crossing the double yellow line. I turned right into him.  He hit me at about 55mph, throwing the car into the ditch which triggered the airbags.  I had no idea he was even behind me.

Anyway, the important thing is neither of us was seriously hurt. 
I gotta admit though, I'm a little confused as to why it happened.  Yes, I feel God protected me, (both of us really),  but then again, I've always thought He would protect me while driving.  Now I am really worried when I get behind the wheel, especially when I have to drive that way everyday.

I have to admit, it was partially my fault. I don't think I had my turn signal on.  Had it been on maybe he wouldnt have tried to go around me, so that makes me think I opened myself up to all that happening.

Any thoughts? 

Since I've found Ray's site, I've had to do a lot of rethinking of what I believe.  I believe God directs my every step, so that would seem to mean I was suposed to go through all of this,,,,right? 

See my confusion?  I don't mean to steal this blog, but I thought it fit in.  Maybe my hut is on fire in some way?  It would be easy to concentrate on the circumstances, like I owe more on the car than its worth, bummer, but maybe God has a plan that I don't see.  I dont really know how to look at it all, but I prayed for wisdom and understanding.  It occured to me that I could possibly find that wisdom in an answer on this forum too, so thats why I wrote about it.

Sorry if I posted in the wrong place.

Joe

[Ninny]

Joe, Oh man so sorry about your accident! Talk about your hut being on fire!! when something like that happens I always think that maybe it prevented something worse at another time. Well you should have had your signal on BUT he shouldn't have been trying to pass on a hill, across the double lines , etc.
Glad you're ok! Maybe you'll get an even BETTER car out of it! 
Take care!
Kathy

[OBrenda]

What a great parable Daddysgirl!
Lord knows I have a few of those huts burning as we speak.
We don't always know until we look back!

Joe,

If I may share I had two rear end collisions 6 months apart.  Be very mindful of head injuries.  And sometimes symptoms can be confussed with the Flu.  Thank God you are O.K.!

I'm still dealing with auto insurance and unpaid doctor bills in excess of $10k so lawyers are also involved.  A few things I can share as reasons that these thing might happen.  First to make us aware that we have very little control over anything.  Which is Paramount to understanding there is no free will.  With free will comes the belief that if you do this, or that you will insure a certain outcome, which leaves a Sovereign God out of the picture.

Next is for me, learning long-suffering!  It can be gut wrenching to go through the process of getting healthy, and fighting for the services that we have paid good money (in good faith for).  God willing your ordeal will not drag out for years, and you will remain uninjured.  I am learning that these things strengthen our faith by sometimes stretching it beyond our comfort zone.

We learn compassion for others when we have suffered, and we learn the goodness & mercy of God when we walk through the fire without getting burned.  Either way we win, as God molds us into the image of his Son.

Hope I don't sound to preachy,
Be Blessed...
Brenda

[jg]

Preach on Brenda!  lol, seriously, no, you don't sound preachy at all.  I'm really wanting to come to the understanding that God wants me to, not my own.  That's why I posted so feel free to post what you feel led to say. 
Sorry to hear of your long hassle with everything you're going through too. 

I have thought more about the sovereignty of God since the accident, which is what led me to ask the question, why did it happen,,and what should I learn from it.  I knealt down and said "Thank you, Sir!" a few hours later, realizing more of what it meant to still be alive.  That might sound corny to some, but the more I ran everything through my mind, over and over, the more thankful I became to Him. I love Him more than ever, especially after He revealed Himself and the true gospel through this site!  And the more that love grows, the fewer flesh problems I have.  I can see that, although I have a long way to go. 

So, Preach ON! 

thanks, Joe

[Kat]

Hi Joe,

I think it is like Brenda was saying, it was so that you can see that God is totally in control and sovereign.  It did all happened exactly the way it was intended to happen and you are right to be thankful to God that you were not seriously injured.  These are experiences so that you can learn you have no control of anything and are totally dependant on God in every way.  You do not need to say 'what if' that is irrelevant, there is no what ifs, only what is.  Do not worry do your best and seek God in all things.

Psa 121:2  My help comes from the LORD,
       Who made heaven and earth.
v. 3  He will not allow your foot to be moved;
       He who keeps you will not slumber.
v. 4  Behold, He who keeps Israel
       Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
v. 5  The LORD is your keeper;
       The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
v. 6  The sun shall not strike you by day,
       Nor the moon by night.
v. 7  The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
       He shall preserve your soul.
v. 8  The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
       From this time forth, and even forevermore.

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[Dave in Tenn]

Hey Joe.  I won't attempt to explain the sovereignty of God...mostly because I can't.    For me, that's kinda the point.  His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts are loftier than ours, and Praise Him, His goals for us far exceed our own.  If the likes of me could fathom it all, it really wouldn't be so magnificent after all.  I love a good mystery.

Sometimes these larger events (like your car wreck) unleash an avalanche of thoughts like "What if I had left a minute later...I'd have been in behind this guy and not in front of him.  Oh wait...what if HE had left a minute earlier too...would this have still happened?  Etc. Etc. Etc." until all you can do is either go crazy or get happy.  When I first started thinking about this, it was paralyzing.  I thought I had LOST something...Oh God, I've lost my free-will...what am I going to do?!?!    But with a little time, and with Ray, and with a few of the fine forum folks, I began to understand I never had it to begin with.  God is sovereign and He tells me that His working in my life began before I was conceived.  He's also given us a peek at the end.  That clears up an awful lot of this 'middle stuff'.  

A kazoollian events happened that led up to that car wreck, and that wreck will be one of a kazoolian more that wil influence/cause the rest of your life.  It's only sometimes that we get a peek at the 'meaning' and then only a really cloudy, incomplete peek.  And that's happening all at once to everybody else too, including the guy who hit you.  What do you say to a God like that except Jesus is Lord!

I'm glad you came through relatively unscathed.  I'm also glad it got you to thinking and to being thankful.  Sounds like you learned a few practical lessons too.  It's Love to use that blinker.  

Hang in there.  

[charrie]

As Job said "who are we to accept the good from GOD and not the bad?

In ALL things give thanks to the Father...

I thank you Father for the accident I had several years ago.  I thank you that my car was totalled.  I thank you that as a result I lost all material possessions (this is a long story).  I thank you that I wrestle (and lose most of the time) with compulsive overeating.  I thank you that I have been told I have osteoarthritis and it hurts sometimes to hold my neck up.  I thank you for the opportunity to make the same mistake twice

From Roger:  "I follow the book in driver-ed as much as possible for the sake of my family's and myself, and the other drivers..... be it using the turn signal, if i miss my  off ramp i travel to the next one and use the turn around and enjoy the extended trip. i am not angered to begin caught by a train , i count them and try to describe the train to my little one who is so found of trains. should i have a flat i pull over to the safest spot i can find and enjoy the scenery as i get dirty and change the tire...  Yes i know is sounds to Serene, but what else is there ??  cuss at the train, swear at the flat, yell at the traffic, disdained at my circumstance.  Is it sissy for me to just stop and take in another breathe of Life and thank God for not snuffing me out and letting me live to see another day..... then i am sissified."

I agree, Roger, let's all just become sissified!!

I may be alone on this one, but, it is the most difficult situations that happen that makes me enjoy so much more the situations that are "good".  I have learned to enjoy the good moments Father gives me because they are precious.  I never know when "class" will be in session again.

I am glad you are all right, Joe

Charrie

[Marlene]

Charrie and Rodger, I am so with you both on your thoughts. I use to sweat everything. Now, I am learning its all part of his plan to change us. Even, thanking him for the flaws I find in me. That, use to be impossible for me. I feared Hell and got warned out with it. I am like Daywalker on that. The release of Hell is the most wonderful thing to ever happen. Now, just trusting him is easier then thinking I have to do it all. I was worn out trying and was just spinning my wheels. Its just freedom and truth. Why, anyone would want to go back to Babylon is beyond my imagination.

Love You All,
Marlene

[jg]

Thanks so much for all the input. 

I was hoping I could gain some insight on things by posting here and I have. Again, thanks!  I've been thinking so much more about God's sovereignty thanks to several post replys.  I actually got goosebumps when I read Brenda's recap of Kat's post, I guess I was given a little insight there.  When I thought about how God is really, and I mean REALLY in control; How He could see to it that I walked away from such a terrible accident without much more than a scratch, not to mention the fact that He put me through it by His plan and intention, and maybe for that purpose alone, it blew me away!  It was as if He was showing me that very thing so that I could learn to trust Him even more, no matter what happens in the future. I'm seeing that now, maybe not as clearly as some of you but I'm growing.

The more I think about it, the more trust I have in my Father.  I believe I have gained way more than I lost.  Whats a car worth? Who cares? The other guy wasn't hurt either, that matters!

Again, thanks all. 
Joe in West Virginia

[Marky Mark]

Thanks so much for all the input. 

I was hoping I could gain some insight on things by posting here and I have. Again, thanks!  I've been thinking so much more about God's sovereignty thanks to several post replys.  I actually got goosebumps when I read Brenda's recap of Kat's post, I guess I was given a little insight there.  When I thought about how God is really, and I mean REALLY in control; How He could see to it that I walked away from such a terrible accident without much more than a scratch, not to mention the fact that He put me through it by His plan and intention, and maybe for that purpose alone, it blew me away!  It was as if He was showing me that very thing so that I could learn to trust Him even more, no matter what happens in the future. I'm seeing that now, maybe not as clearly as some of you but I'm growing.

The more I think about it, the more trust I have in my Father.  I believe I have gained way more than I lost.  Whats a car worth? Who cares? The other guy wasn't hurt either, that matters!

Again, thanks all. 
Joe in West Virginia

Joe,once we learn what really matters here on this earth, then the rest takes a back seat to our Fathers needs.You gotta love it

Peace...   Mark