The Fruit of the Spirit--Faithfulness!

May all your Prayers be answered.

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. 

The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. 

However, to determine whose prayers should be most effective, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island. 

The first thing they prayed for was food. 

The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren. 

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing. 

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing. 

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island and boarded the ship with his wife. 

Since none of the other man’s prayers had been answered, he considered him unworthy to receive God's blessings, so he decided to leave the second man on the island. 

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?" 

"My blessings are a result of my faith and prayers, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so I figured he does not deserve anything." 

"You are sorely mistaken, and are in great debt to him.” 

“How’s that?” the first man asked. 

”It was his great faith that invoked the blessings, and he prayed that all your prayers might be answered." 

Is Your Hut Burning?

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 in which 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 a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. 

The weary man asked his rescuers: "How did you know I was here?" 

They replied: "We saw your smoke signal." 

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.