The Positives

God intends for His people to focus on the positives. One of the best examples of that is Paul. When Paul was in prison in Rome, instead of being upset that his missionary-evangelism work was stymied, his confidence in Christ and the message of grace was unshaken. The exact opposite of what Paul's enemies had hoped would happen was happening. Instead of being intimidated by Paul's imprisonment, many of the brethren were made bolder. Some were motivated by a desire for personal recognition, some by a desired to goad Paul into jealousy, but many simply took up the message because if Paul couldn't do it, someone had to; so, it may as well be them. They were motivated by a love for the lost and a desire to reach them with the gospel of grace and forgiveness of sin.
Paul, however, was not concerned with their motives. As long as the gospel was being preached, he was delighted. For he knew that if Christ was lifted up, He would draw men to Himself. Neither the motives nor the methods were important to Paul; the message of the gospel was being preached. and he would rejoice--and then rejoice some more. In fact, he was excited because his imprisonment gave him the opportunity to present the message of Christ to the household of Caesar and to the elite praetorian guards. We will meet some of them in glory some day--soon I hope.
This is not to say that Paul condoned the wrong motives or the wrong methods. Nor that he would operate his ministry in that way. It is just that instead of being upset by focusing on the negatives--and thereby losing his joy--Paul's choice was to focus on the positives--the message of Christ was being preached. God was using his imprisonment to increase the preaching of the gospel of God's redeeming grace. Paul couldn't help but praise Him.
What about you and me? Do we concentrate on the negatives and sulk? Why not consider the positives and rejoice? Look for Christ in your circumstances. He is indeed there--and doing good. Have we missed Him? Usually that's because we are looking in the mirror and feeling sorry for ourselves. Anyone can be a grump or a complainer. Be a saint instead. Ask God to show you the positives going on all around you and be an ambassador of joy.