Hazards!
As I get ready to play golf again tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, I'm reminded of how hazards on the golf course can affect my game. Sand traps, ponds, rivers, ravines, woods, and much more can devour many well hit golf balls. What I've learned to do, though, is when I'm playing golf and as I prepare to hit the ball with a hazard looming in front of me, I do everything in my power to not focus on it. I won't look at it. I won't think about it. I won't talk about it. If I focus on the hazard, I know the ball will have a greater chance of finding its way there.

I think we can all relate in some way to this. When we're faced with hazards and we focus on them, we choke up. We lose our nerve. We lose our confidence. Maybe it's meeting with someone who doesn't know Christ, and we start thinking things like? Who am I to share this with him/her? What if they ask me questions and I don't know the answers? Maybe someone else is supposed to have this opportunity instead of me? Maybe it's God asking us to step out of our comfort zone to serve Him in ways we're not altogether comfortable doing. All of these thoughts are like hazards that take our mind and eye of the ball, and keep us from simple obedience and experiencing His blessing in our lives.

The bottomline is that we really can't do anything of value for Christ on our own, nor are we expected to. Instead we can do all things in Christ who gives us strength. Focus on Him and not the hazards.
DOM