Gifts from Above

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

It is easy to thank God for good things - for answered prayers, for blessings that are abundant or not even expected. James says that every 'good' and 'perfect' gift is from our Father, and reading from James 1:2-18, we realise that which is good and perfect takes on an unconventional meaning by world standards. It includes trials, such as the toil of mundane life because of poverty (v9). This is because in trials, the desired fruit developed is perseverance (v3), along with wisdom to transcend above the physical and emotional pain and hardship (v5). Moreover, the person shall receive the crown of life (v12), because through his longsuffering, he would have shown his love for God in the world that hates him (cf I John 1:11).

And thus, James is saying that ALL things are from above - and ALL are gifts: be it a trial or a blessing, for God's ways are higher than ours (Jeremiah 29:11). When undergoing trials, we learn to thank God in them; when a blessing is received, we thank God for them, as Hugh Palmer says. We have an assurance on top of this - our Father is unchanging for all time, just like how the heavenly stars have been placed in space since the beginning of the world. Even stars have their organic cycle of birth and death, but our Father is the Father of these lights also. He is far greater and is constant, unlike 'shifting shadows'. Even as the earth fades away, and as the sky peels open, God will not change, for He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End (Revelations 22:13). The Earth will eventually face its judgment - the Seven Seals, the Seven Trumpets, the Seven Bowls of Judgment - but God will rule, He will be the Judge who executes righteousness unto the righteous and the otherwise. The world will die, and it has already started dying with sin and physical destruction and contamination, but God remains.

In view of such sovereignty and might our Father - not others', but ours - has, we can be assured and have faith that all things are from heaven...

and all are gifts.

The year hasn't started out as smoothly as I thought - I had a crisis with module bidding in the notorious bidding system, and I'm currently facing another problem that has implications over these 2 years. God answered my pleas, but between the period of supplication and God's answer, I had found myself sharing about how worried I was. And so, how ironic it was! That I would be coming to the Lord in good faith, but worry whether God would answer them after praying. Though not to the extremity of using profanities and crass language, James 2 was a good reminder for me - that I need to tame my tongue to not praise God on one hand, and yet doubt His providence on the other. It's as good as slapping myself in the face. How many times have we proven so fallible, like sleeping James, Peter and John at the Gethsemane? Thank God for mercy and for grace, I know that that 'modular' crisis was for a purpose, to bear in mind that having faith and trust is a growing process, that all things from above are gifts!