James 1:17 says "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." This particular verse in James gave me so much peace when I read it. I felt this overwhelming joy that God only wants good things to happen in my life. He is my number one fan, and that won't ever change.

Lately, at church, we have been brutally honest with ourselves and how there are things every human struggles with. I was intrigued by how much I have learned from James thus far and decided to read from the beginning. Right from the beginning, he is talking about what happens when we test our faith. It's definitely something that isn't meant to be read lightly.

However, James quickly reminds us that God is on our side, and he is wanting us to come to him. James 1:17 is a great reminder that this world was created by God. Although this world is broken because we have free will, there is so much beauty that no one can overlook.

Whenever I think of beauty, I picture a beach that goes on for miles with the sunset being reflected on the water. I picture a garden of thousands of plants and flowers surrounded by butterflies. Yes, these are typical examples of beauty, but God created all of this for us to appreciate.

James wasn't just reminding us to appreciate the physical beauty of the Earth, but he was reminding us to appreciate each other. Every day we have a chance to give thanks to the people in our lives because they are good gifts from God. These people do so much for us, and God put them in our lives for that reason.

Whenever there is something bad going on in our lives, we have to trust that God has a plan for us. Since we were given free will, there is going to be trials for each and every one of us. Whenever we finally start getting better and we start seeing the good in our life, we need to remind ourselves where that good is coming from. It is coming from God, and he is always going to welcome us back.

I want to also point out that in James 1:17 he mentions that God "is no variation or shadow due to change." How comforting to know that who we are thanking at this very moment will not change. His goodness will always be there, and sometimes, all we have to do is look around at our gifts.

We can all be a little more thankful for the beauty and goodness that we have. Even during the darkest of times in our lives, God is right there holding our hand. That within itself is a perfect gift, and I will forever treasure having that.