What Are You Searching For?

Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the Lord God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken. Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. Amos 5:14 NKJV

“Seek good, not evil.”  We are implored to seek good.  Seek God?

I had a trying experience yesterday.  I could have allowed one customer to destroy my entire day.

See, I’m still honing the ability to hit my OFF button. I somehow allow evil thoughts to find my mental space. Anger festered inside of me. I continued to think about this customer long after she was gone. Long after I’d gone home. She even haunted my dreams!

All this did was make me tense, angrier and opened the door for more negativity to venture in.

However, I was also approached by two of my “good” customers yesterday. Both of them had very kind words for me. They appreciate what we do for them.

Their words were not loud like the hurricane customer who stormed out only to return and shout some more before finally leaving. Their words of appreciation were soft-spoken, understated yet sincere.

Sometimes we must seek good.

I could have allowed the “evil” to blind me to the good. And I would have not that long ago.

“That you may live.”

We must actively seek and magnify the God/good to stay sane and stable amidst all the “crazy” running amuck.

Preoccupation with “evil” make us stressed, tense, and angry. I recognize how dwelling on “evil” things affects my health.

Anxious mind. Queasy stomach. Fear.

These ailments are often manifestations of allowing the negative or evil in life to supersede the good and Godly right in front of us.

Not exactly living as God intended.

Seeking the good in all situations, allows us to truly live and not just exist.

I believe God sent me encouragement because “crazy” was on the way! Thankfully, I recognized the “God/good” in my workday!

Whatever we strive to “seek” we will find. 

When we look for the best in even the worst of situations, I believe God meets our level of faith and expectation. If we constantly complain about our trials, even with due cause, what display of faith is that?

I don’t pretend seeking good is always easy. It takes diligence. It can be difficult. But in the end, definitely worth the effort.

“So the Lord God of hosts will be with you,”

The spiritual maturity necessary to seek the good enables us to direct our thoughts instead of our thoughts dictating our behavior.

If we can do just this one thing, the other areas in our lives will be that much better. 

“It may be that the Lord God of hosts Will be gracious…”

“So, I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9 NKJV

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things [are] noble, whatever things [are] lovely, whatever things [are] of good report, if [there is] any virtue and if [there is] anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8 NKJV