3 Keys to Fulfilling Your Divine PurposeSample

Key #3 - Don’t Get Distracted

I once heard a story about a man who ordered a hamburger at a drive-up window and began to eat it as he pulled out onto the street. He hadn’t gone far when he took a big bite and a pickle squirted out of the burger. It plopped onto his pants. 

Don’t you hate it when that happens?

With one hand, he gripped the steering wheel. With the other hand, he grabbed a napkin to remove the pickle. He just about had it when he glanced up and suddenly his heart was in his throat. While his attention had been on the pickle, his car had veered into oncoming traffic, and a semi-truck was bearing down on him!

With adrenaline pumping, he grabbed the steering wheel and jerked his car back into his own lane, just milliseconds before impact. It shook him up so much he pulled over, and that’s when he heard the Lord speak to his heart: “Son, keep your eyes on the windshield and don’t focus on the pickle on your pants.”

That’s an important lesson about life, isn’t it. There will always be “pickles” – little things that happen every day that clamor to grab your focus and distract you from what really matters. Maybe it’s the dog tracking dirt into the house, your co-worker annoying you, or a traffic jam making you late. Maybe it’s something bigger like sickness, money troubles, or a bad report. 

We all have to deal with details in life, but guard against letting them fill your view. Instead of getting distracted, be like Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). 

Notice that Jesus endured the cross by keeping His eyes on “the joy set before Him.” There is joy set before you –  your divine purpose here on earth and, eventually, your place in heaven. Focus on those things! Don’t let the pickles on your pants take all your attention. Don’t take your eyes off the windshield. Keep your focus on what really matters and don’t get distracted. 

Did this plan help you? It’s an excerpt from my book Why God Why?: What To Do When Life Doesn’t Make Sense. You can read the first part here.