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That’s my dog Bourbon zeroed in focused on my delicious loaded potato. I think dogs sometimes think they are humans so she took a seat and watched me eat (maybe trying to send a guilt trip my way).

Have you ever been so focused that nothing else seemed to matter?

We do that with a career sometimes. We will do anything to climb to the top and achieve what we think is going to make us happy. Our focus sometimes is on a certain dream project we want to accomplish. Maybe it’s a relationship that has you hooked and consuming your every thought and effort.

I read somewhere that Tommy Lasorda once said,

“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.”

But what if that which you are focused in is not what’s best for you? What if what you’re spending your sweat and hard work on (maybe even your tears) is not ‘it’.

I was invited to speak at a New Tribes Mission Conference in South America a few years ago. I was the main speaker in the evening sessions. One afternoon my host missionary took me to a market in a nearby small town to eat some of the local food. I was excited about the exotic!

I phoned my daughters back in the states and said, “I’m going to be like Andrew Zimmerman, if it looks good, I’m eating it.”

But when we arrived at the place there were certain smells I wasn’t accustomed to. There was meat that had been hanging there for who knows how long and things boiling with what seemed like a thousand flies hovering over and cooks waving something like little brooms to keep them off. My courage was dwindling. I saw some ladies frying up some stomach linings and felt a little courageous… until I took a good whiff of the delicacies. Forget it!

Finally we sat down to eat something that seemed harmless.

To this day I couldn’t tell you what I was eating but the hot chocolate in the white cup was out of this world good. After I took a sip and then another sip the missionary started laughing and warned, “Hey, you may want to take it easy on that hot chocolate, that milk hasn’t been pasteurized and you may not be able to handle the cocoa in it.” Immediately I pushed it aside. He asked, “You don’t want it?” and chugged it down fast.

Though I wanted to drink it I had to focus on later, my speaking time. It may have been great tasting but not what was best for me at the time.

Now, think about your life, what you do, where you’re heading, and ask yourself quietly, “Is this what’s best for me?” It may surely be but a Bible verse comes to mind that always dowses me with perspective,

Some of you say, “We can do whatever we want to!” But I tell you that not everything may be good or helpful. (1Corinthians 10:23, CEV)

So, how can we determine one thing or another? You and I have got to think about God’s standards for living (as described in Scripture) and follow those first and foremost. His idea of what a true happy life is like is best!

Then, we must think of our place in life and our loved ones. You may want to write 2 columns about what you’re doing, one of positives and the other negatives, and weigh them in your mind.

Also, prayer is a must. Only God knows the future and what’s best for each of us. We can work and plan towards what we think and want but going at life without the Lord is a recipe for ultimate failure. Without God as the lead we always end up with short-changed satisfaction… keep Him and His will in the forefront of your life and He will lead you to the best life you could have.

By the way, my missionary friend started feeling really bad really fast after drinking that stuff and my dog Bourbon’s puppy eyes did get her some of that deliciousness I was chowing down on at lunch.

Be empowered! Live inspired!!

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