Always, Only Good.

Introduction

She had been suffering for the past 14.5 years. Her son Jonathan battled with mental illness. He would regularly have schizophrenic delusions. They tried over and over to medicate their dear son, searching for a medication that would keep his delusions and depression at bay. Although they did find the right medications, it would be a struggle to keep him on them consistently. Throughout those 14 years, Jon attempted suicide a handful of times and was never successful. But spring of 2013 was a different story. While his parents were at church, John jumped off a parking garage and took his own life.

In pure grief of this moment, the mother recalled her feelings, “It feels like a sharp knife has been jabbed into my gut and then twisted. My heart literally aches and throbs like it has been slammed in a door jamb with no one able to open it for my relief. My limbs go limb and numb. For a moment I feel utterly alone, like God has briefly forsaken me. I feel sick to my stomach but cannot throw up. My chest heaves up and down with choking sobs.”

Where is God? What is His plan in all this pain? Has God forsaken me? In the heat of life’s trials, you are in danger of thinking God is tempting you with evil, when in reality you can trust God because He is always good.

A. His Provision is Good - James 1:16-17a

1. Perilous Deception

God is always, and only good. When we are enduring trials, we will be in danger of being deceived. When all things seem to be against us in life, and the hardship we face just snowballs, we’re going to be tempted to question whether or not God is good after all. But James says,

James 1:16 KJV 1900

Do not err, my beloved brethren.

This is a severe warning for us; “look out!”

What is the danger we face in trials?

When we are tempted, we’re in danger of thinking God is the source of this evil we are fighting. James makes it clear that God is not the reason for our temptation. Temptation comes when we are drawn away by our own lusts. In temptation, we must be most careful to never blame God for something that He has no part in. The mother who’s son committed suicide could’ve blamed God, “Jonathan accepted Christ as his Savior, he followed You obediently and loved You. How could you do this in return?” But that is a pit we dare not fall into.

This is such a strong point because of what’s at stake. If we doubt God when we lose that position, that relationship we had, or that family member we loved, we are twisting the way we understand God’s nature.

2. Perfect Giver

The error is to fall into the thinking that God is the Author of the evil in our lives, and for that reason meaning He is not good. James picks us up from this, “don’t fall into error, instead look at the truth.”

The truth is the total opposite. God is not evil, He is our perfect giver! James 1:17

James 1:17 KJV 1900

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.

A gift is something given without any intent of getting something in return. The gifts God gives are good, they are perfect! The truth couldn’t be any clearer, God is the Author of everything that is good, everything that is perfect. They all find their place in Him!

When circumstances are hard, and you’re tempted to sin, don’t go blaming God. He is not the reason for evil, we’re the ones who bring evil in the mix.

Illustration: Adam blames God for his sin, Eve started it, and You gave her to me.

Goodness is a part of who God is, it’s in His essence. Take away the goodness of God, and God is out of the picture. It’s natural then that He gives us good gifts, He gives us the exact things we need for our times of trial. These are good and perfect gifts because they are sufficient to meet our needs. God may bless us spiritually, He may bless us with material needs, and He may even bless us in our emotional needs. The gifts God gives us are perfectly tailored for our exact trials, and they’re delivered at the precise time we need them.

Illustration: It’s Christmas time now. It’s the only time of the year when the floodgates open with tons of gifts exchanged. God gives us great gifts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year!

He also gives us perfect gifts, these are gifts that have no imperfections whatsoever, they are complete and whole, spotless. What better time to rejoice in these gifts than now! Who is the greatest gift? It is Jesus Christ, the spotless Son of God. He was from above, He enjoyed the perfect beauties of heaven, but came down from the Father of lights, sent on a mission for your soul. So that we (V. 18) would be born again through the word of truth. We can think of so many gifts God supplies to us every day, but none of those can compare to the gift we have in Christ!

If all good and perfect gifts come from the Father, what’s our reasonable conclusion? He is good! Our Father is a good God because of His provision, all good things flow from Him!

B. His Person is Good - James 1:17b

But it get’s even better, God isn’t only good because He gives good gifts, His very flesh and bone is good in essence.

1. Perfect Creation

James says God is “the Father of lights”. He brings us into an astrological picture here. As the Father of lights, God is the creator of the earth, the sun, the moon, and all the stars. There’s a timeless principle we can learn from the creation account. At the end of each day of creation, what did God say? “And God saw that it was good” What did He say once all creation was complete? Genesis 1:31

Genesis 1:31 (KJV 1900)

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

Psalm 19:1 (KJV 1900)

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night sheweth knowledge.

Without sounding mystical, creation speaks to us. The stars you look up to at night tell of His power and greatness, the lilies and the daffodils tell us of the beauty and intricacy of His handiwork. All creation calls together to us tonight, “God is good!”

2. Perpetual Character

Unlike the sun, moon, and stars which He created, God never changes. God is “the Father of lights”. But there is something distinct with His light. The sun comes up in the east, it’s light is at full strength at noon, and fades away into sunset. Then the moon comes along with it’s own ever changing cycle. God is not like these lights though. He never changes, you’ll never find God going through cycles, switching personalities whenever he feels like it. God’s light is always at its brightest, His glory always shines and He never strays from the person He truly is.

You know what that means for us? God never gets in a bad mood with us! You can quote me on this, God never changes for the worse (nor can He change for the better, being perfect). When we crack under the pressure of the trials in our lives, God still continues to be with us, right on our side rooting for us to get back up. Our sin does offend God, but it will never change our standing with us, and it will never change the way He feels about us.

Illustration: There’s one main thing most of us are afraid of when we’ve hurt someone, do you know what that is? It’s the way we are perceived! “Are you going to look at me the same way? Please don’t think worse of me!”

We all have this desire to be on people’s good side, and fear the possibility of being on someone’s bad side. Don’t ever have this fear as God’s child! He never changes, He is always good, so don’t worry whether or not He will forsake you. What did He tell you already? “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)

C. His Plan is Good - James 1:18

1. Planned Redemption

We all know Romans 8

Romans 8:1 KJV 1900

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 8:28 KJV 1900

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

How do we know that all things work together for our good? What about the mom and dad who go through a miscarriage? Or the person who has to see a member of their family lowered into the ground? How do we know God has a good plan for it all then? Look no further but to the cross!

James 1:18 KJV 1900

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

“Of his own will begat he us”. Your salvation is an active expression of God’s desire for you, and He made His will complete by sending Jesus to the cross. The contrast from verse 13-15 couldn’t be any thicker. What happens when lust and sin conceive? (V. 14-15) It brings death! But when God and His word come together (v. 18), He brings life! The Word of truth is God’s instrument for bringing us to the Lord. What a wonderful thing that is!

“What grace is mine, that He who dwells in endless light, calls through the night, to find my distant soul.

And from His scars, poured mercy that would plead for me, that I might live, and in His name be known.”

Isn’t God’s goodness so evident to us in the cross?! He didn’t need to save us, and we certainly gave Him no reason to desire that. It was from His goodness that He chose to give us new life!

2. Planned Harvest

The persecuted believers James wrote to knew this same goodness and grace from God that we know today. And they get to be a part of the greater plan of God. “that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” Since James says they would be the firstfruits of His creatures, I tend to think James was speaking of those 1st century Christians he was writing to. These Christians were among the first ones to receive Christ in the world, and they were a pledge for a plentiful harvest of souls that would follow for thousands of years. All this will be finalized when we are all in heaven, praising Christ forever.

Conclusion

The woman I spoke of who lost her son Jonathan is Shelly Hamilton, Ron Hamilton’s wife. In the process of grieving, she asked herself so many questions. Yet there was one thing that she could hold on to in her sorrow, she said, “Even through life’s most profound loss, even when my dreams have crumbled, even when evil seems to have triumphed, I will rejoice in the Lord because He is good. This side of heaven, I will not understand all that our good God is accomplishing. My human mind cannot fully comprehend His purpose and plan in Jonathan’s story. This I do know—I will trust Him, because I know He is good.”

What better was to close off this time in the Word together with a song Jonathan made himself, “You are Always Good”