“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” (James 1:17)
The apostle James writes a letter to Christians who are facing trials and temptations. James encourages them to remain faithful, and he assures them that these temptations do not come from God, but are caused by their own sinful desires. James bases this claim on the goodness of God. God is “the Father of lights”, he says. There is no darkness in Him at all. Therefore, nothing evil can come from Him, but only perfect gifts. Just like good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit, so the good things in life come from God and the bad things come from Satan and sin.
It is helpful to keep this basic distinction in mind, since it is not always that clearly visible in our lives. Sometimes God allows bad things to happen, and we ask ourselves why He does so. We may face trials and wonder where they come from. Has God forsaken us? Has He stopped loving us?
No, James tells us. If you don’t understand what’s happening, remember what you know for sure: God is good. Every good gift comes from Him, not the evil.
Do you believe that God is good and that He gives us good things?