James 1:5-8
WHENEVER we read the epistle written by James, be prepared for a holy kind of disturbance in your heart. James passionately sets fire and mercilessly burns the neutral grounds. Like a boxer, he brings you to your corner for you to face the truth until all your excuses are knocked out! The book of James is not much on lengthy discussions but is hungry for application and cries the loudest...demanding that true faith in Christ must show the evidence - a transformed life in Christ.
In this particular text, James 1:5-8, James shows us a gift from God called wisdom. He tells us that our gracious Lord is more than willing and will not delay to release this gift without regret to those who will avail of it. This kind of wisdom is not the icing on the cake, it’s the cake itself! If prayer is the way to avail of it, we need to realize that this gift is on-going. Wisdom is one of the blessings of God which is not given to all, it is released when a request is filed. Requests for wisdom are not really in abundance simply because asking for wisdom stems out from a relationship with God. In other words, when we are connected to God by faith, our lifestyle of pride is shattered and our prayer for wisdom becomes a daily request. When was the last time we asked God for wisdom? If my guess is right, the last time you and I asked for wisdom was when we were confronted with a task that was bigger than our selves. When we are asked to speak to a big crowd, we pray for wisdom ... yet that request is non-existent when we are to speak to a smaller crowd? Wisdom is a daily need to depend on the Lord in our routine, in small things...we ask until asking for wisdom is a spiritual reflex that leads us to pray without ceasing!
1. God is the only one who can give wisdom
God gives it, takes it back, is the lone source of wisdom and He delights in dispensing it.
2. God gives wisdom to those who admit they need it
God designs situations in life that show us that we are not as smart as we think we are. He brought King David to his spiritual wildernesses and gave him a prolonged stay in the cave of Adulam where the King learned to yield and bow down to the King of all kings!
3. God gives wisdom to those who ask for it
4. God gives wisdom to those who ask in faith
· “But when you ask, be sure that your faith is in God alone”
· “Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
· “Such people should not expect anything from the Lord”
Abba, I don’t just lack wisdom...I don’t have it. I bear the scars...painful marks of the many foolish choices l have made...reminding me not to trust my own ways. From the snare of overconfidence, deliver us.
Abba, equip me with the kind of faith that honors you...unwavering, unafraid, unassuming...Lord, have mercy.
Abba, grant me discernment in what I call wisdom...who I call wise. True wisdom comes from you alone...is discerning...and the people you call wise are those who desperately depend on you. Holy Spirit, open my eyes that I may know the difference. Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Lord Jesus, look upon me with favour...a child of Abba, Amen.