Jacob的部落格

在一場船難中，唯一的生存者隨著潮水，漂流到了一座無人島上。

small, uninhabited island. 

他天天激動地祈禱上帝救他能夠早日離開此處，回到家鄉。

他還每天注視著海上有否可搭救他的人，但卻是除了汪洋一片，什麼也沒有。

He prayed feverishly for
God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the
horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

後來，他決定用那片帶他到小島的木頭造一個簡陋的小木屋

以保護他在這險惡的環境中生存，並且保存他所有剩下的東西。

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little
hut out of driftwood to protect him from the
elements, and to store his few possessions. 

但有一天，在他捕完食物後，準備回小屋時，突然發現他的小屋

竟然陷在熊熊烈火之中，大火引起的濃煙不斷向天上竄。

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. 

最悲慘的是：他所有的一切東西，在這一瞬間，通通化為烏有了。

The worst had happened; everything
was lost.

悲痛的他，氣憤的對天吶喊著：「主啊！你怎麼可以這樣對待我！」

頓時，眼淚從他的眼角中流出。

He was stunned with grief and anger. "God
how could you do this to me!" he cried.

第二天一早，他被一艘正靠近小島的船隻的鳴笛聲所吵醒。

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the
sound of a ship that was approaching the island.

是的，有人來救他了。

 It
had come to rescue him. 

到了船上時，他問那些船員說：「你怎麼知道我在這裡？」

"How did you know I was
here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. 

「因為我們看到了信號般的濃煙。」他們回答說。

"We saw
your smoke signal," they replied.

人在碰到困難時，很容易會沮喪。

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going
bad. 

不過，無論受到折磨或者痛苦，

都不用因此失去信心，因為上帝一直在我們心裡面做著奇妙的工作。

But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at
work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and
suffering. 

記住：當下一次你的小木屋著火時，那可能只是上帝美妙恩典的表徵而已。

Remember, next time your little hut is
burning to the ground it just may be a smoke signal
that summons the grace of God.

在所有我們所認為負面的事情，上帝都是有正面答案的。

 For all the negative
things we have to say to ourselves, God has a
positive answer for it。