The local sheriff had tightened the requirements for his deputies. They had to qualify on the firing range, where the distance had been extended by 10 yards. Each deputy had 18 seconds to get off 12 shots.

The deputy with the best shot was a personal friend of ours named George. But the day before the trials, he had been fitted with trifocals. When his turn came, he drew a bead on the target.

“Suddenly,” he told me later, “I began to perspire. And when I perspire, my glasses fog up. There I was with a bead drawn on the target, and all I could see was fog.”

But then he remembered what he’d been taught in the Navy: “If you ever lose sight of the target, just remember your position.”

So with time running out, George just held his position and pulled the trigger as fast as he could. When he took off his glasses and wiped them, he saw that every shot had hit the bull’s-eye.

There are times as Christians when we, for some reason, lose sight of our target, which is to glorify the Lord. Tears blur our vision. Unexplained tragedy raises questions that cannot be answered and shakes our faith to its foundations.

Then we must remember that our position is “in Christ.” As if we are tired or hurt children, He will gather both us and our loads.

Though we may not see the target, if we just “remember our position,” we won’t miss.