Everything Good Comes from God

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father . . . (James 1:17).

Have you ever stopped to think that everything good in our lives comes from God, and every bad thing comes from Satan and sinfulness? God may allow bad things to happen because he can bring some good from them, but He's not responsible for evil. With our limited minds, we may never understand His purposes in this lifetime, but we can trust that He is good and wants the best for us.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

When we fail to understand this, it steals our joy. The Christian life should be freeing, joyous, and filled with peace. But for this to happen, we must depend upon God. We can't let false doctrine, Satan's lies, or our own worry and negative attitudes steal it from us. Life is always going to involve struggles, but we can trust God to see us through them and work things out, or we can be anxious, depressed, or unhappy. The choice is ours.

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full (John 15:11).

And there's more good news. If we ask Him, God will help us learn to surrender to Him and find contentment in whatever situation we find ourselves like Paul did. This is what the Christian life can be, and we have the right to it as a child of God. We just need to recognize the truth and train ourselves to accept it as one of God's many blessings.

Not that I speak in respect for what I want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content (Philippians 4:11).

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