A Charitable Disposition

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. James 1.17-18

Is God smiling upon you today? Or is it more of a scowl? You may feel that God is out to destroy you through the “various trials” that you currently face. Still, James exhorts us to “count it all joy.” One thing is sure—if we cannot see God’s charitable disposition toward us in the trials we face, we will never experience true joy. Joy amidst trials is not a matter of tricking our minds into some irrational confusion of pain and pleasure. Joy comes bubbling up through our experience of the constancy of our Father’s love toward us as His own children.

Does God have a charitable disposition towards you? His every act of giving speaks to the constancy of His love. His every gift results in your benefit. All good things flow down to you through His loving condescension. Using light as a figure for good, God is set forth as light’s Source, not its reflection. His love for you knows no variation, it is not sporadic or fluctuating. With no shadow of turning, He is not given to sudden or unexpected changes in His disposition toward you. His care for you is reliable, steady, consistent.

From eternity past it was His desire that you be His child. “Brought forth” translates the same word rendered
“birth” back in verse 15. The term used here for the Divine will speaks of desire rather than decree. God wished it so! The word of truth refers to the gospel message, as the means by which we were born again. It was the Father’s desire that we be born again to the end that we might be the firstfruits of all his creatures. James writes to a Jewish audience that readily understood that the first things harvested belonged to God. Considering all this…do you have any cause to question His disposition towards you?

As a state leader, you face many difficulties that are not of your own making. You constantly face criticism that is unfounded or distorted by your opponents. You work in a complex setting, where it is not always easy to distinguish friend from foe. When the pressure is on you may struggle with feeling that God has left you all alone in your predicament. Be assured…He will never leave you nor forsake you. He made you, redeemed you, and He is using the “various trials” you face to conform you to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ! He is smiling on you today!