Articles
"Everything Good"
Everything Good
Everything good in my life has come from God. The same can be said of your life as well. Our merciful Creator “gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17) because of His great love for us. Consequently, so many of us get to taste the rich blessings of peace and happiness, hope and prosperity, joy and fellowship, purity and uprightness, and companionship and strength. These are the blessings that flow from our living God, who “did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Every other resource is a broken cistern that cannot hold water.
Nothing remarkable has come from a life of sin, except the realization that life is miserable without God. Paul persuaded the Romans to realize the awfulness of sin by asking, “What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death” (Rom. 6:21). What benefit can be found in a life apart from Christ? What sound blessing ever came from rebelling against God’s word or by losing faith in Him?
God is the giver of every good and perfect gift (Jas. 1:17). If you’ve ever received one, you know exactly what James is talking about. If you haven’t received one, you haven’t opened your eyes; for each day is a gift from God. When God directs our paths, He does so in ways that are straight, perfect and complete. He teaches us how to live a good and prosperous life. Through His patient guidance, He brings us to a land flowing with milk and honey in that we have hope no matter the circumstance. When David praised God for providing him with forgiveness of sin (after he confessed and repented, Psa. 32:5), he realized God had done more than forgive him. He also provided David with peace of mind and security. “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah” (v. 7). Or as Horatio Spafford wrote, “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.” Amen, and again I say, Amen!
All glory belongs to the God who calms our troubled souls and “makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake” (Psa. 23:2, 3). The life of sinful rebellion and half-hearted commitment never produced such a peace. If you want to find rest for your weary mind, your only hope is in a total commitment to the One whose gifts are good and perfect.
Mike Thomas
