Stranded

There once was a man who, through an unfortunate boating accident, found himself stranded on a remote and distant shore. Seeing as how he had gone out boating alone, it was uncertain whether or not anyone knew precisely where he might be, or even how long he had been gone. The only this this man knew beyond the shadow of a doubt was that even though he was alone in the wilderness, God had promised to always provide and never leave his side.

Taking a deep breath, the man decided that his first order of business would be to survey the land and gather the necessary means for shelter and sustenance. Without a second thought, the man called out to God: “Lord, you see my need and you know my circumstances—please supply me with food and something to shelter me from the elements."
Before the man could finish thanking God for a work that he knew was already done, he glanced down upon the ground.
“Thank you Jesus for giving me this stick I see before me and this small but useful piece of string." The man took the stick, planted it firmly in the ground, and then removed his jacket. Using the string to tie his clothing to the stick, the man was able to build a make-shift tent for a shelter. All the while the man was grateful.

Once the man had built shelter he set about looking for something to eat. Without even needing to ask, God washed ashore a small bag containing dried meat. It wasn't much, but the man was thankful. So the man ate his meager portion with a grateful heart, thanking God for giving him sustenance, before setting about to search for a way to be rescued.
“Lord, I need to find a way to be rescued from this wilderness. I know that you are with me, and I thank you in advance for providing the way. Amen."
But before the man could say his final words of thanks, he spotted a very large tree. “Hooray!" thought the man, for he somehow knew that this was just the lookout post that God had provided. So he set about to climbing the tree, and once he reached the top he noticed that from atop this precarious position he could see a boat sailing by. Even though this boat was too far away for the man to catch anyone's attention, he had faith that very soon God would bring someone close to his shore so that he could be rescued.

By this time it was begining to get late. The sun was starting to set and the man knew he would need to climb down from his perch, make a fire for warmth, and settle in for the night. So with a thankful heart, the man made it back onto solid ground and proceeded to search for his matches and some small sticks. Just then, a tremendous crash of thunder rang out through the sky. The man ran for his shelter just in time to see a bolt of lightning strike the tree he'd been using for a lookout post. The tree came crashing down upon a huge boulder only a mere few feet away from where the man was cowering in his tent.
“Thank you God! Thank you for protecting me from being killed by the falling tree!" No sooner did he let these words fall from his lips, he noticed that in the lightening strike one branch had fallen a short distance from the tree, ignited, and would probably become an out-of-control blaze had he not spotted it in that moment. Running, the man reached the burning brush and tried to extinguish the fire. Just then, it began to rain. Spotting his chance, and thanking God for providing the means, the man noticed one of his cooking pots had also washed ashore — which allowed him to extinguish the blaze with relative ease.

Exhausted and filthy the man crept back to his tent. This day had certainly turned into something far beyond the exciting adventure he'd set out to find. Nevertheless, the man was grateful and thankful to have been protected and cared for by God throughout the entire ordeal. Even though he was still hungry, and even though his feet still stuck out from the edge of his tent, the man felt very blessed. No matter what circumstances we are faced with, Jesus said that we never have to fear. For God makes good of all things for those who trust in Him and believe. The man had faith that if he could simply go to sleep that things would surely be better in the morning. So the man once again thanked God for each and everything he had been given... but this time he paused for a moment. What was he going to do next? How would the Lord provide a way to be saved? Not knowing what he should do next, the man asked God to speak to him; give him instruction.

God took a deep breath, let it out with a sigh, and looked down on this man, His child whom He loved very much. Had it not been raining, perhaps the man would have heard the small chuckle before God continued...

“My dear child. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to hear you giving me thanks and praise regardless of your circumstances. You were right about me never leaving you, and you were right to trust that I would always provide a way. However...
You asked me to provide food, shelter and rescue; which I did. What you did not do was wait for me to give you instructions on how I intended for you to use the things I had supplied."

The man thought about this for a second. “I see. I guess you're right, Lord. But from where I sit it seems to me that since everything has worked out so well, surely I was in your will and using the gifts you've given me."

“True," said God, “but you are ALWAYS a part of my will. I give you gifts, I give you hope, I give you the necessary means—NOT because of what you are or are not doing, but because I love you. I would have helped you even if you chose not to use what I had given you; and I did."

At this point the man could do nothing more than sit in silence. He did not understand what God was trying to tell him. Surely there was more, but what? It simply did not make sense.

“My dear, dear child. Sometimes I put you into a difficult situation because I want you to struggle. There are times when you must fight for the knowlege and strength I want to bless you with. Other times I allow things to happen, not because I am punishing you, but simply because there must be a balance of trial along with the blessings of happiness in your life. It isn't always easy for you to know which kind of trial you are going through, but I do. I see and know all things from begining to ending.
When I allowed you to be shipwrecked in this wilderness, it wasn't so you could learn how to fight the fight, and it wasn't designed to make you struggle. This was one of those times when all you had to do was call out to me. I answered your prayer right away, but what you failed to hear was my instructions. I only asked that you be still, watch, and give me thanks—for I am God.

“I still don't understand!", exclaimed the man.

So God continued to speak. “I gave you that stick and string to feed you. All you had to do was tie the string to the stick and use the dried meat for bait. I washed a pot upon the shore for you to cook in! You could have had more fish to eat than you could have finished in one sitting."

“But what would I have done for shelter, Lord?!"

And the Lord said, “You still don't understand. I showed you a boat in the distance to give you hope. What you didn't know was that out there in the water, on that very boat, was a forest ranger. When I caused the lightening to knock over the tree and start a fire you complicated matters by not allowing me to finish the work I had started."

The man was dumbfounded, but silent. Therefore God was able to continue speaking.

“I started the fire to signal the boat. They may have been out of your view at the time, but they were still in mine. I turned them around after you climbed down from the tree. I was sending them here to rescue you, and that fire was my way of signalling them ashore. I purposely set the tree down on top of the boulder in order to provide shelter for you until your rescuers arrived."

There are no words capable of describing the humbled, embarrassed, and shamed tears the man began to cry. He felt so foolish. But God just laughed. “My child, I am not angry with you. As a matter of fact, you looked kind of silly struggling so hard to try to make it on your own. Sometimes I get frustrated when you ignore me, but I will always take care of you. That doesn't mean that there won't be consequences; sometimes there are, but I will carry you through those as well. For tonight, though, just rest. Tomorrow I will send another boat...this time, PLEASE be still."

and with that, the man fell asleep; wrapped in God's embrace, protected and loved...with a whole new understanding.