Looking for Trouble!

Have you ever heard the saying “You tend to create what you most fear”? Well, most of my life, I’ve been looking for trouble!

I don’t know about you, but it’s sometimes hard to understand why Murphy’s Law used to be the theme of my life. Over the years, I began to see a correlation with what I was seeking and what I was finding. Let me explain:

In Matthew 7:7 (NIV), it says “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” I always viewed this with asking God for your desires, needs and wants. Lately, I’ve began to see a different perspective.

My pastor Orlando Juarez of The Bridge Church in Bixby told me a story. It went something like this:

There were two young boys who went to visit their grandfather. They loved to visit Grandpa because he had this awesome tractor they could play with in the back yard and a garden they could explore! When they arrived, they ran in and said, “Grandpa! Grandpa! Can we go play in your backyard?”

He answered, “Of course you can!” Then he added, “But don’t you spit on my bush!”

The boys just looked at each other in confusion and shrugged, and then they ran outside and shut the door behind them. The grandfather peeked out the window and watched as they walked out, looked at the bush, looked at each other, and spit on the bush before running to play! Why did they do that? Spitting on the bush would have never come to mind if Grandpa hadn’t brought it to attention. But when he brought it to attention, the kids gravitated to it. I now look at life the same way.

When we speak and think of the worst case scenario, we can tend to subconsciously set into motion things that will bring that scenario into existence! Most of the time, we don’t even realize it! It’s kind of like the guy that says, “I can do anything but that…anything but that and I’ll be alright!” And then he does that!

Whatever you seek you will gravitate to and find. This can also be seen in Job 4:7-8 (NLT). It says, “Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed? My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same.” In my life, what I have concentrated on has generally come to pass. Not always in black and white, but in general, we reap what we sow. And the choice is ours.

Galatians 6:7 (NLT) says, “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” So why do we point out spitting on the bush? Why do we dwell on the negative – the rules – what not to do and who we should NOT be? Let us focus on who we are, what we truly want, and who we should be.

Don’t go looking for trouble; chances are you’ll find it!