Matt Elrod - God's Survivor

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Okay anyone watch Survivor: Redemption Island? Well for those not familiar with the rules, this season theres a twist. Those voted off the island will be sent to another island to compete for a chance to return to the game and redeem his/her chance to win the whole game. Sounds fun right? Now on to my post. See every season, a hand-full of people are selected to compete for the prize of 1 million dollars. You can imagine that each one of them will have their own story which motivates them to win the cash. But theres one person who caught my attention, Matt Elrod (a pre-med student fro Nashville). Right off the bat Matt was sent packing to redemption island courtesy of a tribal council vote. Now Matt took this peacefully and survived for 3 weeks in redemption island at which point he was allowed to return to the game. But his struggle wasn't over yet. The very same people who voted him out in the beginning sent voted him out for the second time landing him back to redemption island. You could imagine his rage and his frustration with having to go back after he worked so hard to get where he was. But he gracefully accepted it and said he forgave the people responsible for it. In an interview with him in redemption island, it was obvious that Matt was at his breaking point. He was on the verge of giving up. I could only imagine trying to survive alone for 32 days. But day after day, since the moment he stepped foot on redemption island, he said God has a reason for him being there. That he knows its hard but its what God wants for him and he will follow His will. He also took every challenge as a way to honor God. Sure this might seem as a game to most, but the frustration and the hardship he feels is quite real. Its amazing how strong his faith is and that the mere thought of God's plan for him keeps him fighting on. Then he said the words the stuck with me till now. Matt said: "I'm here because God has a plan for me. I'm not sure what it is yet but I know this is what He wants." That brought me to ask myself, if I was in his position, would I have been able to say those very words? Would my faith remain as solid as his even after close to a months worth of hardship? Would I still be as faithful as he is and not ask God why he has brought me to this place? Bottom line is I couldn't bring myself to answer those questions. I can say it so easily now but after what he's been through I just don't know if I can remain as steadfast. We should all learn from Matt and his trials in Survivor. He has been suffering since the game began and when he finally got back to the game he was sent right back to the bottom. Yet he never saw it as punishment and he never questioned God for it. Instead, he remained true to his faith and believed that it was part of God's plan for him. He takes every trial as a way to honor and serve God and when he fails he sees it as part of it all. How about us? What do we do everyday that we do for Him? When we face whatever trials we face, how do we look at it? I personally wish I could be half the Christian or half the servant of God that Matt Elrod is. P.S. Matt is still in the running to win the game. I wish him all the best!