I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. – Psalm 37:25
Carefully folded away in the cedar chest in my bedroom is a tiny, hand-knit sweater. It has been many years since the sweater was worn. The baby it was made for is a grown man now, with a little boy of his own. The sweater is not cherished because of its tremendous monetary value; it was made from ordinary yarn. And it probably would not win an award for the intricacy of its design, as the pattern is fairly basic. I suppose a critical eye might even say the style is a bit dated.
However, that sweater is precious to me. Carefully stitched below the neckline is a label that reads: “Made Especially for You by Ester Green.” That sweater is special because of my relationship with its maker. To me, it is a symbol of the love my dear auntie has for her family—and for this niece and her first baby in particular!
Our focus verse tells us that every good gift is from our Father in Heaven. Not only are God’s gifts good (useful or practical) and perfect (nothing lacking in them), but our Father’s gracious generosity is also wholly consistent. We know that everything He sends our way is good and perfect because He loves us, and that will never change!
Some of God’s gifts to us are immediately recognized as being of great value. Perhaps He blesses us with a wonderful Christian spouse, a promotion on our job, or a delightful friendship. How we thank Him for those gifts! Our hearts are truly appreciative.
However, some of the “gifts” God gives us may not appear to be so wonderful from a human perspective. For example, perhaps the home the Lord helped us purchase is requiring more repair work that we expected. Or maybe the Lord led us to a particular job, but the paycheck is not as big as we think it needs to be, or the co-workers are challenging to work with. It might be difficult to understand at times, but we can treasure even these conditions as being of value to us, and accept them with grace and appreciation because they come through God’s hand. He has not forgotten our needs; it is more likely that He sees a need which we do not see. Maybe we need to learn patience, contentment, or brotherly love, and these seemingly “imperfect gifts” are the best way for us to learn. We never have to doubt the things He sends our way. Because they are from Him, we know they are good gifts!
No matter what “value” the world may place on what God puts in our lives, we can be sure that each gift God gives represents the love He has for us. Today, let’s thank Him for “every good gift and every perfect gift” that He has given!