“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” (James 1:5-8).
Life
requires wisdom. When we are plagued with problems, we need God's
wisdom to get through each hardship. When we have decisions that must
be made, we need His wisdom to guide us. When emotions rage, we need
His wisdom to keep us from actions which are based on our feelings
alone. In these verses James explains we should pray and ask God for
wisdom. Not only does He give it, but He is generous with it. We may
ask why something happens, but God wants us to understand that His
ways and thoughts are higher than ours–that we can trust His wisdom
above our human feelings. If we trust Him and ask Him for the ability
to handle our trials, He gives spiritual wisdom to deal with them. He
directs us in every trial that we face.
In
these verses James not only imparts that we should pray for wisdom,
but tells us that we should pray trusting and believing that God will
provide. If we pray for wisdom and feel we don't receive any, it is
not because our faith is lacking. Feelings have nothing to do with
faith. Faith that is as small as a mustard seed is great enough to
move mountains. James identifies the problem as being double-minded.
A double-minded man grabs hold of “but what if”, and his faith
depends on circumstance instead of placing what little faith he has
in God's faithfulness. A double minded man is also one who sits on
the fence and can't quite plant his mustard seed of faith in God. His
mind has not been brought under the control of Christ. James writes
that this man is unstable in all his ways. Why should God grant him
wisdom? However, a person who is surrendered to the Lord, and
believes in God's faithfulness, doesn't ask “but what if?” He
chooses to believe in God's unwavering truth. Instead of being
double-minded, He is single-minded in faith. He is focused on God's
faithfulness instead of his circumstance. He knows that without God's
help, He will fail. When this single-minded person cries for out for
faith to believe–when he cries out for wisdom, he receives
generously from the Lord. “No matter what I will trust Him”
replaces “but what if”. In his cry for wisdom, he surrenders his
fears to Jesus Christ and receives greater faith to believe that God
will guide him safely through troubled waters.
I
pray to always be single-minded, and never doubt God to supply His
wisdom to handle ever trial in my life. I don't want to be like a
ship tossed on the sea with no anchor to secure my faith. Are your
tired of waves buffeting you and sending your mind in all directions?
He is your anchor and guide through the storms of life. Begin the
process of bringing your thoughts under the control of Christ by
making a mental decision to believe in His faithfulness. Fight “but
what if” thoughts, and reach to believe in “no matter what I will
trust Him”. He will reward you with His wisdom, and anchor your
safely.
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