Careful What You Look For — You May Find It

Careful What You Look For — You May Find It
Pastor Paul Bailey

Our focus shapes not only our perception but often our reality. If we look for problems, we will surely find them. If we look for blessings, we will find those, too. God calls us to cultivate a heart that seeks good — even when it feels scarce. What we seek, we tend to find.

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📖 **Key Text:**
Proverbs 11:27 — “He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.”

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### 1️⃣ The Eye of the Seeker
What you seek determines what you find.
- 📖 *Matthew 7:7-8* — “Seek, and ye shall find…”
- 📖 *Jeremiah 29:13* — God is found when we seek Him with all our heart.

🔹 Seeking is an act of faith.
🔹 Wholehearted seeking leads to finding.
🔹 The heart guides the eyes — pure hearts find God's presence.

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### 2️⃣ The Danger of a Critical Spirit
When we expect the worst, we blind ourselves to the good that God is doing around us.
- 📖 *Titus 1:15* — To the pure, all things are pure.
- 📖 *Matthew 6:22-23* — A focused eye brings light; a divided eye brings darkness.

🔹 Purity of heart changes our vision.
🔹 A critical spirit poisons our perception.
🔹 Your inward condition shapes your outward experience.

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### 3️⃣ Choosing to See with Eyes of Faith
Faith opens our eyes to possibilities, not just problems.
- 📖 *2 Corinthians 5:7* — We walk by faith, not by sight.
- 📖 *Hebrews 11:1* — Faith is the evidence of things not seen.

🔹 Faith moves us beyond natural limitations.
🔹 Faith is proof of God's promises, even before fulfillment.
🔹 Faith finds what fear overlooks.

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💭 **Reflection:**
- Am I looking for problems or possibilities?
- What dominates my daily focus — complaints or gratitude?
- Am I allowing a critical spirit to rob me of seeing God’s blessings?
- How can I walk by faith and see through God's eyes this week?

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🏁 **Closing Challenge:**
📖 *Philippians 4:8* — "Think on these things…"

Like Abraham, we are called to look for the good even when it seems hidden. Even in a world full of brokenness, seeking the righteous pleases God.

**Change what you are looking for — and you will change what you find.**