Giver of Good
James 1: 17
Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.
Every good gift comes from our Father who is in heaven. Where do you suppose every bad gift comes from? Not the Father of lights, for there is no darkness in Him, no hint even of a shadow. Honestly this sounds like a very simple principle. Well, I suppose it is, but people get confused about it all of the time. John 10: 10 tells us that the devil comes only to steal, kill and destroy and this verse tells us that good gifts come from our Father. Why is it, then, that so many people think that God sent them cancer or some other portion of the curse. He is the Father of light, the author of the blessing. The devil is the one trying to kill you.
In 2 Corinthians 12: 7 Paul tells us about his “thorn in the flesh.” Now some folks will tell you that God gave Paul that thorn in the flesh. I don’t know how they get there intellectually since the verse says plainly that it was a messenger of Satan. Do we think that God sent a messenger of Satan to Paul? Well, of course not. That is silly. So why do we think God sends us thorns in our flesh? Well, the answer is that we have been deceived. The devil is a liar and the Father of lies according to Jesus (John 8: 44). We don’t have to believe his lies though. And we must be diligent to know the Word of God so that the devil cannot deceive us any longer.
