"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17 (KJV)
In this verse God’s goodness is seen as He presents the Gift of His Son, the LORD, JESUS CHRIST, by whom every “Perfect Gift” is given. Here we see that evil is darkness and light is goodness. This is no
wishy - washy God for He never changes. He is not a trend-setter. God is good and perfect. Remember He is not God if He is not good and perfect. He is the source of all good and perfect gifts. Our problem is that we do not believe that He has a plan for each of our lives. Many times our plans are not in accordance with His plans so we assume that He does not love us or that He does not care about us. The Bible says that we are the apple of His eye. Many times we will go through trials and temptations and we lose faith in God. But remain strong in your faith.
I came across an illustration that I want to pass along to you and pray it gives you a perspective that helps you through your trials and temptations. It is titled the birth of a giraffe and know that sometimes thing occur in our lives to strengthen us. There is no victory without opposition.
The birth of a baby giraffe is quite an earth-shaking event. The baby falls from its mother’s womb, some eight to ten feet above the ground and lands on its back. It shrivels up and lies still, too weak to move.
The mother giraffe lovingly lowers her neck to smooch the baby giraffe. And then something unbelievable happens. She lifts her long leg and kicks the baby giraffe, sending it flying up in the air and tumbling down on the ground. Within seconds, it rolls to an upright position with its legs tucked under its body. The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to get take a quick look.
Then she positions herself over the baby, waits for about a minute and then swings her leg outward and kicks her baby so that it is sent sprawling head over heels. If it doesn’t get up, the process is repeated over and over again. The struggle to rise is monumental. As the baby calf grows tired, the mother kicks it again to stimulate its efforts. As the baby lies curled up, the mother kicks the baby again and again until the baby giraffe, still trembling and tired, pushes its limbs and for the first time learns to stand on its feet.
Happy to see the baby standing on its own feet, the mother giraffe comes over and gives it yet another kick. Now, the baby giraffe falls one more time but now quickly recovers and stands up. Mama Giraffe is delighted. She knows that her baby has learned an important lesson Finally, the calf stands for the first time, and then the mother kicks it off its feet again.
Why does the mother persist in this action? Because she knows the giraffe cannot get too comfortable; it must stay with the herd for safety. Too many animals enjoy eating young giraffes. Why does the mother giraffe do this? She knows that lions and leopards love giraffe meat.
So unless the baby giraffe quickly learns to stand and run with the pack – it will have no chance of survival.
Well how does this illustration apply to us?
For us Christians we need to keep our eyes on the prize-Jesus Christ. We need to get back to our first love. God is in control and has the plans set for each of our lives. Remember that we belong to the King
of Kings. We are a child of the King. Most of us though are not quite as fortunate as baby giraffes.
No one teaches us to stand up every time we fall. When we fail, when we are down, we just want to give up. We want to throw in the towel. No one kicks us out of our comfort zone to remind us that to survive and succeed, yes, even as Christians we need to depend upon our Lord and He will help us move on and get back on our feet.
That is why we need to pray for one another, to undergird each other with the love of the Lord and to encourage each other to stay the course.
If you study the lives of successful Christians you will see a recurring pattern (People like King David, Abraham, the prophets, etc.). Were they always successful in all they did? NO. Yet, you will find that the common streak running through their lives is their ability to keep their focus on the Lord - to never give in and not give up.
In this verse God’s goodness is seen as He presents the Gift of His Son, the LORD, JESUS CHRIST, by whom every “Perfect Gift” is given. Here we see that evil is darkness and light is goodness. This is no
wishy - washy God for He never changes. He is not a trend-setter. God is good and perfect. Remember He is not God if He is not good and perfect. He is the source of all good and perfect gifts. Our problem is that we do not believe that He has a plan for each of our lives. Many times our plans are not in accordance with His plans so we assume that He does not love us or that He does not care about us. The Bible says that we are the apple of His eye. Many times we will go through trials and temptations and we lose faith in God. But remain strong in your faith.
I came across an illustration that I want to pass along to you and pray it gives you a perspective that helps you through your trials and temptations. It is titled the birth of a giraffe and know that sometimes thing occur in our lives to strengthen us. There is no victory without opposition.
The birth of a baby giraffe is quite an earth-shaking event. The baby falls from its mother’s womb, some eight to ten feet above the ground and lands on its back. It shrivels up and lies still, too weak to move.
The mother giraffe lovingly lowers her neck to smooch the baby giraffe. And then something unbelievable happens. She lifts her long leg and kicks the baby giraffe, sending it flying up in the air and tumbling down on the ground. Within seconds, it rolls to an upright position with its legs tucked under its body. The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to get take a quick look.
Then she positions herself over the baby, waits for about a minute and then swings her leg outward and kicks her baby so that it is sent sprawling head over heels. If it doesn’t get up, the process is repeated over and over again. The struggle to rise is monumental. As the baby calf grows tired, the mother kicks it again to stimulate its efforts. As the baby lies curled up, the mother kicks the baby again and again until the baby giraffe, still trembling and tired, pushes its limbs and for the first time learns to stand on its feet.
Happy to see the baby standing on its own feet, the mother giraffe comes over and gives it yet another kick. Now, the baby giraffe falls one more time but now quickly recovers and stands up. Mama Giraffe is delighted. She knows that her baby has learned an important lesson Finally, the calf stands for the first time, and then the mother kicks it off its feet again.
Why does the mother persist in this action? Because she knows the giraffe cannot get too comfortable; it must stay with the herd for safety. Too many animals enjoy eating young giraffes. Why does the mother giraffe do this? She knows that lions and leopards love giraffe meat.
So unless the baby giraffe quickly learns to stand and run with the pack – it will have no chance of survival.
Well how does this illustration apply to us?
For us Christians we need to keep our eyes on the prize-Jesus Christ. We need to get back to our first love. God is in control and has the plans set for each of our lives. Remember that we belong to the King
of Kings. We are a child of the King. Most of us though are not quite as fortunate as baby giraffes.
No one teaches us to stand up every time we fall. When we fail, when we are down, we just want to give up. We want to throw in the towel. No one kicks us out of our comfort zone to remind us that to survive and succeed, yes, even as Christians we need to depend upon our Lord and He will help us move on and get back on our feet.
That is why we need to pray for one another, to undergird each other with the love of the Lord and to encourage each other to stay the course.
If you study the lives of successful Christians you will see a recurring pattern (People like King David, Abraham, the prophets, etc.). Were they always successful in all they did? NO. Yet, you will find that the common streak running through their lives is their ability to keep their focus on the Lord - to never give in and not give up.
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