"Whoever seeks good finds favor." — Proverbs 11:27

How do you see the world? How do you see your day, your problems, your interruptions, and the people around you?

The answer says a lot about you.

Stephen Covey said, "We see the world, not as it is, but as we are." Think about that for a second. We don't simply see reality—we see reality through the lens we're looking through.

And the lens you look through determines what you find.

I've worn glasses and contacts since I was 13 years old. Every year I get my eyes checked because if my prescription is off, my vision is off. The same is true in life.

Some people look through the lens of fear. Others look through the lens of disappointment, lack, failure, anger, or negativity. The problem is that whatever lens you choose becomes what you notice most.

That's why I love the story of the four lepers in 2 Kings 7.

They were sitting outside the city gate during a famine. Rejected. Hungry. Hopeless. Then one of them asked a powerful question:

"Why stay here until we die?"

That question changed everything. They realized staying put guaranteed more of the same. Moving forward created the possibility of something different.

What they didn't know was that God had already gone before them. The enemy had fled. The miracle was already waiting.

But they never would have discovered it if they stayed focused on their circumstances. Their perspective created movement. Their movement positioned them for a miracle. Too many people miss what God has prepared because they become experts at finding what's wrong instead of looking for what's right.

The truth is simple:

What you look for, you will eventually find.

God designed our brains with a filter called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). It helps us notice what we focus on. When you buy a red truck, suddenly you see red trucks everywhere. When you're expecting a baby, you notice babies everywhere.

The trucks weren't new.

The babies weren't new.

Your attention changed.

The same principle applies to your life.

If you focus on problems, you'll find problems. If you focus on reasons to be offended, you'll find reasons to be offended. If you focus on opportunities, growth, gratitude, and God's goodness, you'll begin finding those too.

Paul understood this when he wrote:

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable... think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

In other words:

Train your mind to find the good.

Good finders aren't people with perfect lives. They're people who have trained their eyes.

That's why gratitude is so powerful. Gratitude doesn't change your circumstances. It changes what you notice about your circumstances. And what you consistently notice, you begin to magnify. 

The world has enough critics. Enough complainers. Enough people pointing out what's wrong.

Be different.

Become a good finder. Look for God's faithfulness. Look for opportunities. Look for reasons to be grateful. Look for the good in people. Look for evidence that God is still working.

Because when you seek good, you'll find favor.

And often the miracle you've been praying for is waiting on the other side of a new perspective.

Change your mind. Transform your life.
— Todd Griggs