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)
In 1743, when Robert Robinson was just eight years old, he lost his father. Angry, bitter and fatherless, Robert rebelled in excess through his teenage years—drinking, gambling and causing trouble. But God broke into his heart through the gospel preaching of George Whitefield. Several years later he had followed the Lord into ministry and was later inspired to write “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
Every Good Gift
God’s amazing grace flows to us through Jesus, not only in our salvation, but in every single good gift we receive from his hand. James writes, “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).
Our gracious and sovereign God never changes, and he loves to shower goodness on his undeserving children. His grace takes many shapes in our lives—people, safety, health, insight, provision, large and small—and they’re all from God’s good hand.
We Cannot Proclaim It Well
Jesus sought us when we were strangers, while we were wandering—literally fleeing—from the fold of God. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God’s grace did not wait for us to want him. No, he came to us in the midst of our mutiny against him and won our life and affections by the cleansing blood of his Son. With Robinson, we “cannot proclaim it well.” We will never be able to adequately give voice to the victory we’ve received.
A Goodness That Keeps Us
And the victory doesn’t end with our conversion. Do you feel yourself drifting or wandering in your walk with God? Do the temptations feel too strong? Or the distractions too compelling? Has life become so busy you can’t find time for him? The good news is that all those whom God has called to himself by grace, he is daily keeping in that same grace until he brings them home. Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee. God promises to seal and finish what he’s begun in our heart and life (Philippians 1:6).
