A Father Who Knows How To Give Good Gifts
Dear Friends,
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| A Father Who Knows How To Give Good Gifts |
My husband, Jason, is so good at buying gifts. Not just gifts for special occasions, but gifts for no other reason than it's what he loves to do. It's one of his ways of showing someone he loves them. I've been blessed on numerous occasions with flowers he has bought for me. When he is away from home or is on a day out, he will often see something he thinks one of our children or one of our nieces will like and will buy it, such as a particular colour of nail varnish for our daughter Jess.
His way of giving gifts to our children just because he loves them reminds me of how God, our Heavenly Father, loves to give his children gifts too, for no other reason than he loves us and it brings him pleasure.
If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask him? Matthew 7:11 (TPT)
I realised recently that God my Father had given me some gifts, not because I "needed" them as such, but just because he wanted to bless me. They are the kinds of gifts which we can so easily fail to see that they actually come from him. Sometimes they are the kinds of gifts that we just take for granted.
For example, not so long back I was struggling with being a parent of teenage children and I was feeling quite low about it and feeling a bit of a failure. That day when I was feeling at my lowest, a parcel came in the post for me. It was two reading books which I had been gifted with in return for writing a book review which had been accepted and published in a magazine. To me, it was a gift straight from God. He was telling me that he saw my struggles, that he understood how rubbish I was feeling and he wanted to give me something he knew would bring me joy. The gift didn't change my situation, but it did remind me that I'm not in this alone because God sees and cares.
Another time I was feeling very discouraged about my writing, questioning whether I really am gifted in it and wondering whether I could make better use of my time doing something else. I received the gift of encouragement from two people, telling me what I wrote was so helpful to them and to keep doing it.
Now, you could turn to me and tell me that these gifts were not from God, they were just coincidence or they were given by someone other than God. But I believe the Bible when it says:
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 (NIV)
God pours out all kinds of gifts on his children and he does so in a variety of ways. Sometimes it is in the way I've described above. Sometimes it may be as we listen to the early morning bird chorus. Or a rainbow after a storm. The majestic mountain view outside your bedroom whilst on holiday in Switzerland. It may be a shoulder to cry on. An invitation from friends to come round for dinner. The first time your toddler says the words, "Love you". Sharing coffee with a good friend. A lazy soak in a warm bubble bath. An encouraging phone conversation, or email, or letter, or text message. The gift of doing something you enjoy whether it's reading a good book, playing a round of golf, a walk on the seafront, or crocheting. I could go on, but you get the idea! 😀
It's so easy to take some of these things for granted or fail to notice them for what they are. At least, that can be the case for me. Yet I do believe these are all gifts from our loving Heavenly Father. They are all evidence of his generous love towards us. They tell us that he cares about our everyday lives. He cares about our struggles and he also delights to give what he knows we will enjoy and will bring us pleasure.
Sometimes these gifts from God come to us via other people. He uses people in our lives to be a blessing to us. He wants to use you and me to be a blessing to others, for us to be the one through whom he can give gifts to another of his children. When we follow God's prompting to give a gift to others, we find in the process that we too are blessed by God.
Don't miss out on the blessing another Christian brother or sister wants to give you, such as the gift of friendship, by refusing to receive their gift. Likewise, don't miss out on a blessing God wants for you by refusing to give to another what you know God is prompting you to give.
Our Heavenly Father really does know how to give us good gifts. His gifts are unconditional, they come with no strings attached and they come at just the right time when we need them if we would just open our eyes to see.
Oh, that I might be more aware of the many gifts he freely gives me. Then may my heart and mouth erupt with thanks and praise for the love and goodness God has shown to me.
Let your heart overflow with praise to the Eternal, for He is good, for His faithful love lasts forever...Let your heart overflow with praise to the True God of heaven, for His faithful love lasts forever. Psalm 136:1&26 (VOICE)
Over this weekend as many celebrate Fathers' Day would you take some time out to be with your Heavenly Father? Reflect on the many gifts he has given you in just this past week. Ask him to reveal to you ones that you may not first have been aware of.
Consider writing down the 'good and perfect' gifts he has blessed you with. Then use this list to write a prayer, poem or song of thanks and praise to God.
What could you do each day which would help you to open your eyes to see all that God has given you? (One idea you could try is to take a few moments to reflect at the end of each day and ask God to bring to your mind the times he blessed you with a gift. Then end with a prayer thanking God for his goodness to you.)
Vicki
If what you read was of interest to you, then you may like to know that my book "Dear Friend...52 Weekly Devotions to Encourage, Challenge and Inspire" is available to buy from Amazon, on Kindle or in paperback. (Its content is material adapted from past blog posts.) To learn more, click on the link below:
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