Tuesday, April 2, 2024

James 1:5-8 4/2/2024

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

Do I trust God? … I mean really TRUST God. When it is all on the line, do I rely on the fact that God loves me and is on the throne…  or does my heart doubt God’s goodness?  Do these doubts eliminate my wisdom and make me unstable?

James doesn’t beat around the bush … if you don’t have wisdom, it is because you haven’t asked for it, and believed God would deliver.  God wants you to be wise… But wisdom requires faith. It is impossible to have one without the other because, wisdom is trusting God and tenaciously acting on the fact that He is Good.  You cannot be “sort of” wise.  You either are, or you are not, and it all depends on the power of your faith .

When I was young, we had a trampoline. I quickly learned that the surest way to get hurt was to attempt a flip and change my mind in the middle of the attempt. “Chickening out” in the middle never ended well.  Being double minded with weak faith is the same way.  Wisdom is about finishing. The wise either commit to completion or don’t start. 

Commitment and faith are the cornerstones of  wisdom … Bailing out of your faith when it gets scary can cause you to “crash and burn”. God wants you to look fear in the eye and keep walking, confident in the direction He is taking you.  He wants you to cast your worries on Him and have peace when your head hits the pillow tonight… But you must ask for wisdom,  and trust that He will carry you all the way through the storm.   Let your faith go from your head to your heart, and then to your feet.  Don’t bail out of what He has called you to do. He’ll carry you through it,  just stay the course. 

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” - Saint Augustine


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