divineinsight:BY HUMPHREY MTANDWA
Men challenges the goodness of God when they go through trying and difficult times because a good God would not let hunger, wars, poverty and difficulties to inflict humanity. James challenges this by saying every Good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights in whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning.
Shadows are made by blocking light from its source. God is said to be the Father of lights meaning there is nothing which has greater light than him. James tries to draw us to the conclusion that God does not change. If God does not change it means his position cannot shift. What God was yesterday is what He will be today and what He will always be even in our tomorrow. James calls him the Father of lights to show they will never be anything that will ever be greater than him to make him change.
The translators use the word variableness to show it’s not in his nature to shift and change what He is and who He is will always be the same. God is good all the time. John Wesley said it seems God would not do anything unless man pray. The solution to men’s problems is man because God has already delegated this responsibility to man. God in his wisdom gave man authority over the world and gave him the power to bring about the change he desires in that world. Man in his own wisdom destroyed all that God gave to them and lost this dominion to the devil.
Still God in his goodness sent Jesus to restore man’s lost dominion. After the death of Jesus man’s position was restored but still man fails to maintain the responsibilities they were given. The state of the world is not because God is not good but because man fails to take his rightful position and bring order in his world. James in seeing this concluded that every good and perfect gift is from God. James speaking in the earlier verse says that all temptations that affect men are birthed from men’s own lustful thoughts and he shows the pattern how it grows from lust to sin and finally death.
Man will try not to take responsibility for things falling apart around them and would rather just shift the responsibility to God. We need to understand that God is a good God and his goodness is not measured by the state of the world. God told Abraham that he would be a father of many nations and years passed before he saw the manifestation of that word. But Abraham understood that the one who had promised was righteous which allowed him to patiently wait for the fulfilment of this promise. Before you were born God made provision for all that you will ever need and all man has to do is align to that word. Even if man misses that word it will not be fulfilled until he repositions himself to it and accomplishes it.
God will never change and what he has said for you it is settled in heaven (it has been spoken already and will not change). Psalms 119:89. Don’t question his goodness, question you’re positioning what he has said for you will come to pass all you have to do is align to that word and when you do this you will see that word manifesting. By nature God is just good. His goodness cannot be measured by man or how man perceives Him. God is a good God. Have a blessed week.
l Humphrey Mtandwa is an anointed minister of the gospel and teacher of the Word based in South Africa. He has written several books including The Enoch Generation, Truthfulness and Theophany. He blogs at mtandwa.blogspot.com and can be contacted via e-mail or WhatsApp on +27 610286350.
