All Good Things Come From God

James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

If you’re like most people, you work hard for a living, and you take pride in the “things” you have accumulated over the years such as a comfortable house, a nice car, and even your children and grandchildren. God wants us to enjoy life and acquire “things” that make us feel happy and secure, but He also wants us to understand that although we “work out” the money we use to buy all of those things, they are still gifts from Him, and Him alone.

Take a few moments to ponder exactly how you acquired the possessions that mean the most to you. Sure, you’re the one who is working the long hours to pay for a great house or a fancy car, but it is God who gives you the strength, knowledge and perseverance required to keep your job and that steady paycheck coming in -  and if it ever fits into His master plan for your life He can just as easily take it all away.

It makes no difference whether a person is a believer or not, all good things still come from above. Sometimes we might wonder why God often chooses to bless unbelievers with just as many nice things as believers, and often more, but we can rest assured that it is all according to His plan. As humans, we cannot even begin to understand the mind of God or the motivation He has for doing the things He does.

But we do know that our Creator is filled with love and compassion for all men and women, even the most wicked of sinners. After all, He sent His beloved Son down to earth to die a miserable death on the cross at Calvary so that we sinners could have the precious Gift of Life. Just think about that for a moment. The greatest gift that God ever gives to anybody is given to sinners and unbelievers.

God loved us so much that He offered up His only son, Jesus Christ - the perfect Lamb of God – to be slaughtered so that His shed blood could atone for the sins of the world. We surely didn’t deserve it, but through His mercy and grace He gave us the gift of eternal life anyway. It is my hope that we will always remember that all good things come from God…and I do mean ALL good things!