Embrace the Lord’s Goodness
James 1:17-18 | Dr. Ryan F. Whitley | August 2, 2026
1. Look at God’s GOODNESS.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above …
– James 1:17a ESV
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
– Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV
2. Look at God’s CHARACTER.
… coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
– James 1:17b ESV
For the Lord is good …
– Psalm 100:5a ESV
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
– Mark 10:18 ESV
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
– Matthew 7:11 ESV
You are good and do good …
– Psalm 119:68a ESV
3. Look at God’s GRACE.
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
– James 1:18 ESV
