Seasons

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

I love fall. I really, really love fall. The leaves changing, cooler air, smell of fires, let me tell ya, the list could go on and on. I was walking to work a few days ago and a leaf fell right in front of me. It was one of the first I had personally witnessed this season. At first, I smiled to myself thinking of the fall and all that awaits. My mind started turning a bit thinking about how the world around us is ever changing. Then my thoughts expanded much deeper into the gravity of what change means.

So much around us is changing. And not many people are fond of change. I know that I would tend to struggle with an idol of desiring control. When so much is changing, the reigns of control are noticeably ripped right out from under me making my perspective shift back to the unchangeable truths. After that vibrant, red leaf fell in front of me, my thoughts were redirected back to some things that we can have confidence in will never change.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

There are two main points I want to hit on from this verse. The first one is connected to the beginning of the chapter and identified with the first part of verse 17. Verse 2 tells us as believers to “count it all joy when met with trials of various kinds.” Then verse 17 affirms to us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.” Are those two verses in any way connected? Absolutely they are. Because even my trials are an evidenced good gift from God. Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” The world all actually means all. All things are working for my good. Now my definition of good may be distorted based on my flesh’s response and temporal desires. But when my mind is aligned with Scripture, it is clear that ALL things are working for my good. My good is always growth in godliness. Trials are a clear avenue for my dependence on Christ to grow.

The second point I want to hit is found in the second half of verse 17, and it is saturated with Christ’s character. It says, "with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” He never changes. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). What a comforting promise we have wrapped up in that verse. He never changes. Because Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we can have confidence in three specific things that I want to hit on briefly:

We can have confidence in His finished work.

Every time I read the gospel story, I want to make known what all Christ suffered for me, and for you, that we might be reconciled to God. It is the most sobering story, and our reconciliation is an overwhelming truth. Meditating through the gospel is an extremely healthy practice for us as believers. May we never lose sight of the agony of the cross that our Savior endured for us. Christ’s last words before his death on the cross were, “it is finished” (John 19:30). And we can rest in the promise that it is finished. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

We can have confidence in His present working.

Not only can we rest in the security of our justification, but we can press on in our sanctification through the grace of His present enabling in our lives. Grace is an active, transformative power in my life to live in submission to His word. Yielding in obedience is always the next right thing to do. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). He is actively working in our lives. We must continue our part in this pursuit of moment by moment yielding.

We can have confidence in future glory.

Romans 12:12 tells us to “rejoice in hope.” Hope is not a whimsical wishing but a confident expectation placed in the One who never changes. We have full assurance wrapped up in our hope. “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). There is so much that could be said here. The glory of God is something our finite minds cannot fully comprehend. But there is much in the Bible giving us glimpses into His glory. Colossians 1:27, Psalm 19, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 5:2, 2 Peter 1:3, Romans 3:23 are just a start to the many passages that come to mind pertaining to the glory of God. Eternity with the one who redeemed me from my sin absolutely has no comparison. It takes an intentional change in our inner man to focus our minds this way. It is way too easy to get caught up in the transient things we see. But our inner man is being renewed day by day as we see and savor His glory we read on every page, the glory we see all around us, the glory we await with eternity spent with Him.

So, as the next leaf falls to the ground, as another season rolls around, or when your life takes a new direction, remember the One who never changes. Rest in His finished work, the work He is doing, and the glory that awaits. Rest in who He is.