Seeking God's Wisdom

What would you say is one of the hardest trials that you have faced is and do you remember how you felt during that time?

*Recalling how I felt during my hardest trial*

The reality is that we all are going to face hardships in our lives and as Christians, we know that those hardships are used by God for our growth into Christlikeness. However, this doesn’t mean that these hard times are easy or fun. As a matter of fact, the hardest things I have ever faced and the worst feelings I have ever felt have happened since I became a follower of Christ.

These trials can shake us to our core, can confuse us, and can leave us feeling emotionally shipwrecked if we think that we can just tough them out because, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Well, in James 1, verse 2-4 tell us that God does allow us to face trails in our lives and that these trials are used to mature us as believers. However, like we’ve already discussed, that doesn’t mean that these trails aren’t hard and can’t result in serious confusion and emotional hardship. This is what leads us into our focal point for today which is James 1:5, it reads.

James 1:5 NKJV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Today, we will find that the Bible has something to teach those of us who have found ourselves feeling angry, confused, afraid and alone in trials and that there is hope and help for us in the midst of the hardships that we face. Today, God is calling us to trust in Him, run to Him, and rest in Him and the wisdom He gives throughout the ups and downs of life.

Now, as we’ve already discussed, we all face trails in our lives and James specifically mentions them as being varying types of trials unless you find yourself feeling like your hardships don’t apply. And it is through these hardships that we find our faith tested, patience growing, and our weakness getting stronger making us more like the Lord. But have you ever found yourself getting beaten down by hardships and thinking to yourself, “Lord, what’s the purpose in this!” or “This is hopeless!” or “Man, why does this kind of junk always happen to me!” You see, those are three different responses to hardship that are each able to be to informed and transformed by the wisdom of God that is given to those who seek it in prayer. With that said, let’s look at our first point for today which is:

Why Does God Allow Us To Lack Anything?

James 1:5 says:

James 1:5 (NKJV)

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Now, this isn’t saying that there are some who lack it and some who don’t. Instead, James is calling us to investigate our own hearts and minds and to see for ourselves that we lack the wisdom that we need to face the trails that we face. But why? Why do we need to know that we lack wisdom and why does God allow us to lack it in the first place?

The reason that God allows us to lack is because it makes us realize that we are creatures who don’t have it all figured out and that makes us look to the One who does.

Thomas Manton said, “Those who are humbled by their own needs are most open to God’s offers. Only God is self-sufficient; creatures have needs, so that their eyes are fixed on God. Certainly they who lack most, lack nothing.”

Remember the story of the prodigal son that Jesus told? Jesus says that the prodigal was sitting in the far country and thought about how he was starving but how all those who were with his father, even the servants, were doing so well. The lack of food and the serious agony of the prodigal causes him to run home to his father. But we obviously know why the guy needed food. He’d obviously die without it.But why do we need wisdom? Which is our next point:

Why Do We Need Wisdom For Trials?

There are a few reasons that we need to ask God for wisdom in the middle of our trails.

1st, we need wisdom to see God at work in the midst of our hardships.

2nd, we need wisdom to rest in the promises of God.

3rd, we need wisdom to search our hearts in the midst of hardships.

When we are made wise by God, we will be able to rest in His promises knowing that He is working right now for my good and His glory. This kind of thinking should cause us to think, “Lord, if there’s something sinful in my heart, I pray that this trial might deal with it.” This kind of wisdom will also grant us control over our emotions in the middle of difficulty. Proverbs 14:29 says,

Proverbs 14:29 NLT

29 People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.

The question we need to ask ourselves now is whether this is guaranteed. Is there something to motivate us to pray for this kind of wisdom, or we could say:

Will God Give Us Wisdom?

James 1:5 (NKJV)

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Will God give us the wisdom that we are praying for? Well, according to James, God promises us that He will. In Proverbs 3:5 we read

Proverbs 3:5 NKJV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

Solomon is telling us that resting in our own wisdom is foolishness, but that we can rest in God’s wisdom. Here in James, we find that God is the fountainhead of wisdom and that it is from Him that all wisdom flows down to His people. This is what we see in Abraham in Genesis as God commands him to sacrifice Isaac and the writer of Hebrews tells us that Abraham trusted that God could raise Isaac up from the dead to fulfill His promises to him. We see God giving wisdom to Solomon in 1 Kings 3 where God tells Solomon to ask anything of Him and Solomon asks for wisdom. That pleased God so much that God not only gave Solomon wisdom, but wealth and honor. Finally, we see it in the story of the Prodigal Son as Jesus shows the love of the Father in those who are given wisdom to see their lacking and that it is in God that they’ll be filled.

What we learn in those stories is that God is happy to give wisdom to His people and that He gives, as James says, liberally and He is happy to do it.

In Psalm 116:1-2 we read,

Psalm 116:1–2 NKJV

1 I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

In the mind of the Psalmist, the fact that God cared to hear him and answer his prayers made him love the Lord and desire to speak with Him in prayer all the more. What we need to learn as believers is that God is inviting us to come to Him, He is happy to fellowship with us, and that He can and will bless us with what we need if we will come to Him and ask. Thomas Manton said, “IF God command anything beyond our nature, it is to bring you to your knees for grace.”

Results of this Gift

First, the willingness of God to bless us with wisdom should cause us to be frequently running to Him in prayer.

Psalm 81:10 “10 I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

Second, the result of God making us wise is rest in His care in the midst of life’s difficulties.

Third, we should mimic the grace of God. Just as He generously blesses us, we should generously bless those around us.