“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17 ESV)
The 1930s were years of economic devastation for most countries worldwide. It was well named . . . the Great Depression. Unemployment was at it highest point. Both food and money were scarce. The crime rate soared. Survival was a struggle for most people. Suicide was a common response to the despair of the times.
In many towns and villages across America, families survived only by neighbors helping neighbors. Many heart-warming stories of individuals sharing with each other have been passed down from this period. Sometimes the giving and kindness were anonymous. One such story relates how a basket of food and money was left at homes all over town, day after day. No one ever discovered this patron of giving.
Our patron, on the other hand, is known. ‘The Father of Lights’ gives us our daily needs. Faithfully, day-after-day, he blesses us with good things. There is neither a variation nor a hint of change in his giving. Employment, housing, food, loved-ones, health, a beautiful environment, . . .the list is quite lengthy.
No, I am not ignoring the horrors experienced by ordinary people everyday. We have a choice, however, we can resign ourselves to the circumstances or we can gratefully receive the manifold gifts from the Father of Lights. I choose to do the latter. Despite the challenges that confront me, I still receive an abundance of perfect gifts from above! I will look up and use the challenges as stepping stones to God’s best.
Dear Father, with overflowing grateful hearts, we thank you for all the perfect gifts you issue to us each day. Empower us to recognize them. Remind us of their intrinsic value. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be encouraged today by our heavenly patron,