SEEING the Good, which means SEEING God

I had the amazing opportunity to be a speaker this past weekend at the Kansas State FCA conferance. There was almost 700 students, athletes, and coaches in attendance so I was quite humbled to be a part. I had prayed and prayed about what God wanted me to share and I was confident and super excited to do just that. I was waiting back stage, they got me all set up with my cordless mic, I am listening to the praise band and praying intensely, they do my introduction and it is go time....I am ready to bring the Word! I go out on stage with a great welcome,especially when someone in the back yells "boomer" and I obliged with yelling back "sooner." Yep, God was definetley in the room:) I begin the message and I can feel the Holy Spirit just speaking through me and the response from the crowd was just so overwhelming that it gives me goosebumps even now as I type.....Everything is flowing and then I see it......two girls right in the center, right in front of me sound asleep. ASLEEP? I don't just mean nodding off....I mean they have their heads back, mouths wide open, and think I saw some drool too. As much as I tried to focus on the 698 people that I felt God was speaking too, I couldn't stop staring at those two girls that were sound asleep.

I would like to say this is the only time that I have ever focused on the 1 negative thing in the middle of a thousand positive things. Can you relate? If I have 9 out of 10 people say something nice, I will focus on the 1 that didn't. If my husband does 9/10 things right, I will gripe about the 1 thing he didn't. If my children get 9/10 right on their spelling test, I will focus on the one they didn't. If I have 9/10 great qualities, I will focus on the one that isn't. If God blesses me in 9/10 areas, I will focus on the one "I feel" he isn't.
I have been studying the book of Psalm, and I am encouraged by the man in which God called..."The man after God's own heart"....David. David had a lot of negative going on in his life during this time: People were trying to kill him, he was on the run, and hiding in caves....and he wrote these words..."I am still confident of this:I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13.
We have a choice each and every day whether or not we are going to "see the goodness of the Lord" or not. I believe in the goodness of our Lord and I believe there are positive things all around us....we just have to choose to see it! When you choose to see the Good, I am confident that you will then, see God. And the more we see God, the more we see that even when the negative things pop up... God will work, even in those, for the good (Romans 8:28)
I am laying down the challenge to see the good in the annoying co-worker that sits next to you, to see the good in the husband that sleeps next to you, to see the good in your school or workplace, to see the good in the burnt dinner you just pulled out of the oven, to see the good in YOURSELF.
Yes, it is easier to focus on the two girls asleep, but when we do, we will miss the work and the blessings that God is doing all around them:)