See the Good...In Every Situation

Titus 1- 15-16 -   A person who is pure of heart sees goodness and purity in everything; but a person whose own heart is evil and untrusting finds evil in everything, for his dirty mind and rebellious heart color all he sees and hears.  Such persons claim they know God, but from seeing the way they act, one knows they don’t. They are rotten and disobedient, worthless so far as doing anything good is concerned.

Paul writes to his dear friend and helper Titus. He had left him to lead the churches on the reek island of Crete.  He gave him similar advice to Timothy…including a warning of the many false teachers that would try to dilute the truth of God’s gospel. Then he gives him one new way to measure the validity of a person’s claim to Christianity…their ability to see good in every situation.

I admit that is very hard to see good in some of the atrocities I see in the news. But let me stretch your thinking just a bit. The young girl who was shot by a young neighbor boy has rallied the community to pray and search for answers to why guns are so easily obtained by young adults these days. The deaths of those students in Oregon serve as a costly wake up call to those of us that think America is immune to persecution.

The Bible clearly states in Romans 8:28 that God can and will use all things for our good. We can’t let evil get the upper hand on our mind by letting it see only the bad. If we dwell on the bad…then our minds will begin to let go of the power God has to bring good out of the things we see as bad on the world. Job did not give up…his friends tried their best to get him to concede his sin…but Job held tight to his faith and in the end God brought good out of all that he had allowed satan to take from Job.

I needed the reminder that other people watch my response to the evil things that happen daily in our world.  God calls us all to use the pure heart he installed in us to see the bigger picture…  the good he intends to bring out of the evil he allows to reign for a short time. If I let the evil be in control for even one second…it might take root in my soul and begin to color all my thoughts in a negative way.

Father….thank you for the reminder that I need to always concentrate on the good that you plan to bring out of all bad situations.  Forgive me for the times that I have allowed the bad to control my thoughts and stopped looking for the possible good you intended to bring about.  Help me to concentrate on the good you plan to bring about from every bad and negative thing satan tries to accomplish. Amen.