All Gifts From Above!
Verse for Today: Monday, August 12, 2013
Psalms 16:6 – The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
Man often becomes proud and forgets that all that he has are from God out of His benevolence. The sinful man has no right to expect anything good from God. So man ought to become grateful for all that he has in this life. A child of God, as a sinner saved by grace confesses and acknowledges all that he has in life as gifts from God. He confesses that he is unworthy to receive anything from God and is truly grateful for all that God has given him. He also acknowledges that his God gives him only good things in life. It might be a little or a little more, but it is solely his by the grace, loving kindness and mercy of God. When a child of God meditates on all that has been received from God, he is enabled to see and consider it as pleasant and good. He appreciates and enjoys that which has been given to him without comparing it with what others received. He is satisfied with what he gets and tries to make use of it for God. We give what has been entrusted with us back to God and continue to receive more and more from Him. We have the privilege to publicly confess all our blessings as God’s purposeful and perfect gift to be used for His glory. This is the sure way to live without feeling proud or self-sufficient. When we have such response to God’s gifts in enriching our lives, we would be more careful the way we use these resources and become better accountable. We thus live for our God with all that He has given us.
Dear reader, have you become complacent with what God has been making available in your life day by day? Do you enjoy these gifts with a truly grateful heart? By the way we handle the gifts that our God gives, we would reveal its true source. King David knew from where his strength, mental ability, intellect, skills and the facilities that he enjoyed have come from. He realized that he was a shepherd boy to start with and spent his time running after the sheep. But His God picked him up from his lowly engagement to become the king of all Israel. His God gave David all the resources that he needed and a magnificent palace to live in. David had received greater things in life than his elder brothers who were trained soldiers in the army of King Saul. All David could say was that he had been chosen by God to enjoy His favors by grace. He acknowledged it all to God’s mercy and lived to testify to the greatness and benevolence of God. David had much to sing about the greatness of His God who supplied all his needs at the right time. Today the God of David comes to us to reassure us that He will meet all our needs so as to enable us to serve Him with a grateful heart. Let us confess our unworthiness to receive blessings from God and attribute what He gives to His grace. Let us become accountable to God for what He has entrusted with us. It might be material things as well as spiritual gifts, along with our time, training and abilities. When we use it all for God, He will reward us with greater gifts to help us to continue to serve God and honor Him. Our God will be pleased with us when we honor Him with all that He allows us to handle on His behalf.
James 1:17 – Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Thought for Today
God gives us to satisfy our every longing so that we would gratefully use it all for His glory.
Prayer for Today
Lord: Help me to acknowledge all that I have as your benevolent gift and strengthen me to use it for your glory. Amen!
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