James 1:17 states, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” God has you! You are safe in His hands and He is giving you good gift after good gift, because He is your loving Father.
Author Bayo Earl writes, ‘Something I have been thinking about recently is how much our mindsets would shift if we really took this verse on, that “every good thing is a gift from our Father”. Imagine how much more seen we would feel or reassured that He is with us. But instead, we can find it a lot easier to forget to notice these things, or to forget who it is that they come from. Often, we can make the mistake of thinking we have to have a deeply spiritual encounter with God, or a ‘word’ from someone, in order to know that God is with us, and He sees us. But what if we started to recognise the good gifts He gives as reminders that He is with us?’
Bayo Earl continues, ‘I don’t believe in ignoring the realities of life and just deciding to be positive, because I believe it’s important to be real, and to express how we feel about what is going on. But it doesn’t have to end there. The truth is that God is with us, even when we feel as if He is distant, or when life just seems hard. Those good, healthy things which keep us going are gifts from Him.
Maybe it’s the sunset we see as we are driving home after what felt like a hard day. Maybe it’s that friend being there to give us a hug and listen to us when we need it. Or maybe it’s the provision He makes for us, even in a hard situation. These things are gifts from our Father, reminding us that He sees us exactly where we are, how we are, and that He is with us. He is not holding back from us.’
This is a good message from Bayo Earl. When we are going through wilderness times is an especially important time for us to remember God’s love for us. In Nehemiah 9:17, we are told about how forgiving, gracious, and compassionate God is, “slow to anger, and abounding in love”. These are precious words!
As well, Psalm 84:11 says God withholds no good thing from those who walk with Him. On that theme, Jesus (in Matthew 7:11) reminds us that if we – who are imperfect parents – give good gifts to our children, how much more will God – who is perfect – give good gifts to we who are His children. Our Father knows what is really good for us, and then He gives that to us. He has us in His hands. He sees you and is with you! He has you! Rest in that truth.
