11/28

James 1:17

¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

If there is anything truly good in your life, you can be sure it came from God. He is the source of all goodness. Evil is the result of turning away from that goodness by those who abuse free will. In the previous devotion we saw that God's goodness sometimes takes the form of trials. Every good gift is from God because goodness and love are His nature. His nature will never change throughout all eternity. The rest of your life will be full of His good and perfect gifts, but you will only see them as such when you see them with God's perspective.

Think about a few of the many good and perfect gifts that are ours in Jesus: the forgiveness of sins, our seat with Christ in the heavenly realms, fellowship with Him, the answer to prayers that conform to His will, heavenly rewards, gifts and talents, a family of believers, righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit, and the promise of a transformed heavenly body. I could go on and on, but that is for you to contemplate. Let us not forget to add discipline and trials to any list.

The apostle Paul tells us that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). The greatest gift of all is Himself. He gives Himself to us. "To us a Son is given" (Isaiah 9:6).

Ponder: In giving us Himself, Jesus has given us every good thing (Romans 8:32).