Response To Trials (Part 2)

Introduction

How many of you remember of the first time that you jumped into the water as you learned how to swim....

FCF: why are we afraid to ask God for help, especially during trials? Why do we doubt God and not trust that he will help and provide what we need?-Pride, Self-Dependence, worship of self or others over worship of God.

Last week, we learned that the first way we must respond to trials is by counting them as pure joy because they are good gifts from God that will help strengthen and complete our faith.

Tonight, we will see the second way that we should respond to trials as believers in verses 5-8…in that We must respond to trials with an undivided faith, asking for wisdom from our ever-wise and all-generous God.

Now, let us read the second way we should respond to trials from James 1:5-8.

James 1:5-8 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

PRAY

We Must Ask Our Ever-Wise and All-Generous God For Wisdom (vs. 5)

James just got done saying that if we let steadfastness have its full effect during trials, that we will be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Yet, he begins verse 5 with a contraction, using the word “if.”

James uses the word “lack” in verse 4 and verse 5 to tie these two paragraphs together.

James assumes that his audience lack the necessary wisdom to think rightly about the trials that they go through, therefore, James commands them to ask God for wisdom.

The word “wisdom,” can be defined as the ability to discern what is right.

It is the trait of using knowledge and experience with common sense and insight to make decisions.

Wisdom is more than just knowledge, but properly applying that knowledge in order to discern the best choices to make in life.

An example of wisdom can be seen in that someone who has knowledge of the Bible can explain what the Bible means but one who has wisdom is one who knows how to use the truths of the Bible in their everyday life…they not only know what the Bible says but they apply it to their life to guide their conduct and situations they face.

We see this wisdom carried out in King Solomon’s life from 1 Kings 3:9-12…in that he was able to “discern between good and evil,” and judge the people rightly.

But why is it so important that we have wisdom when we go through trials?

Essentially, we need wisdom to understand God’s purposes for allowing us to go through trials, so that we can see that they will lead to our maturity.

We also need wisdom to know which path to take when we are experiencing a trial so that we can choose the one that leads to steadfastness, and eventually to overcoming the trial.

So, because we lack the wisdom needed to respond to trials rightly, James commands us to ask our ever-wise God for wisdom.

The word “ask” is an imperative command that is in the present tense, which signifies that we may need to persist in our requests for continual wisdom, rather than just offering up one “hopeful” prayer in desperation.

This emphasizes the theme of steadfastness, mentioned in verses 2-4, even in prayer, for wisdom to endure trials.

Proverbs 2:3-6 tells us that wisdom essentially flows from the mouth of God and that we should seek and search for wisdom with all our heart like we were searching for silver or for gold.

So, we should ask God for wisdom because He is the epitome and inventor of wisdom…but James goes further by telling us in verse 5, that we should ask God for wisdom because he is generous and gives wisdom freely without reproach.

James says that God “gives generously,” and the literal translation can read “let him ask of the giving God.”

This means that generosity is not something that God does, but rather, generosity is who God is.

Generosity is a continuous characteristic of God’s nature.

The word generosity communicates a sincere and straightforward nature…fully open…and not withholding anything.

This word also communicates a single-minded devotion, as if God’s mind is set solely on this task to give his wisdom to us.

This is how the giving God gives…with a selfless, total concern for us, and with an exclusive preoccupation as if he had nothing else to do but to give and give again!

Not only is God generous in giving us His wisdom, but James says he also gives his wisdom, “without reproach.”

The phrase “without reproach,” means that God will not criticize or revile us when we ask for his help…but he will give sincerely and single-mindedly the wisdom we need to remain steadfast and overcome trials.

God does not base his giving of wisdom on our previous record of actions or decisions...God does not hold ANYTHING against us...He gives to us freely based on his gracious and loving character.

Oftentimes we do not ask others for wisdom because of pride and because we think that they will look down on us because we do not know the answers or have it all together...yet God will NEVER do this! We can come to him freely when we need wisdom and He will give to us freely!

This again shows us the need to trust in God and remember who He is.

Notice the promise at the end of verse 5....it will be given him....we can take it to the bank that if we ask God for wisdom, he will always deliver.

It is truly amazing when we think about how generous our great God is…that when we lack wisdom, he will give of his wisdom freely to us, without reproach…but James gives a condition of how we must ask in verses 6-8....we must ask in faith, with no doubting.

We Must Ask With An Undivided Faith (vs 6-8)

We see the condition James gives from the word “but” at the beginning of verse 6.

To receive the wisdom we need to remain steadfast and endure trials, we must ask God…but we must ask in faith with no doubting.

To ask in faith means to have strong confidence and reliance fully upon God.

The command is not based on having a certain degree of faith for God to give us wisdom, but rather believing in the character of God, that He is ever-wise, and He is all-generous, and he will provide for our needs.

It is not based on the strength of our faith but rather on the strength of the object of our faith.

In referring to faith, James is asking...Do we trust God’s wisdom and his ways and his plans and ambitions for our future...in that he uses trials and difficult circumstances to accomplish these things?

James says we should ask in faith....WITH NO DOUBTING.

But what does James mean by this phrase, “no doubting?” Is he saying that we can never have doubts about God or question or wonder how or why things take place?

Specifically, the word doubt DOES NOT MEAN to simply doubt something, or have doubts, but rather to have two-souls or to be two-minded…literally it means to face both ways and have to masters.

What James is saying, is that we cannot be divided in our loyalties…we cannot doubt God’s character, that He is the all-good and wise God…just as God is single-minded in his giving to us…we must be single-minded in our trusting in Him.

Pastor Alec Moyter says, “the problem is not intellectual doubt but moral and spiritual commitment, the devotion of our whole loyalty to the Lord.”

We see another example that James is not talking about mere doubt, but more so, warning us against being divided in our loyalty to God from examining the life of Abraham....

Paul uses this same word, “doubt,” in Romans 4:20 saying that Abraham never wavered in his faith.

Yet, we know that Abraham did doubt God and, even went against what he said...but Paul’s point is not that Abraham NEVER DOUBTED, but that he remained consistent in his faith and dependent upon God for the whole of his life...he maintained spiritual integrity...this is the same point that James is making when he says we must ask in faith with no doubting.

The word doubt can be understood synonymously with “double-minded,” which James uses to describe the one who doubts in verse 8…and James says that the double-minded man loves the world and is an enemy of God in chapter 4.

In reference to wealth, Jesus gave this same teaching in Matthew 6:24 by saying that a person cannot have two masters…you will either love one and hate the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.

Theologian Craig Bloomburg, in speaking of those that are double-minded says:

“these are people who are unwilling to let go of the world and truly follow Christ, torn between sin and obedience, reluctant to let go of the pleasures of the world for the sake of discipleship. This description hits close to home in an age of nominal Christians who attend church from time to time, perhaps even regularly, but who refuse to let God interfere with their daily lives and goals.”

So, what about you…do you come here every Wednesday night and Sunday morning…maybe the occasional event…but when it comes to your life, your faith in God is non-existent and makes no difference in the way you live?

Are you double-minded in your faith, trying to serve two masters…who else are you trying to serve alongside God....sports, athletic success, money, that new piece of jewelry, that new pair of shoes, that new gaming system or phone, your boyfriend or girlfriend, popularity?

Jesus is clear that we cannot serve two masters, so who are you going to choose to serve?

After contrasting doubt with faith, James gives a simile of the one who doubts at the end of verse 6...For the doubter is like the wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

The one who doubts has no stable position or solid footing, they will follow every which way and go back and forth in their decisions and what is true.

What James is describing by the “wave of the sea” is not the waves rising high and then crashing back down…but rather the swell of the sea that never has the same texture…moment to moment it is always changing with the carrying of the wind.

James says that there will be two results of the one who doubts in verses 7-8…that they will not receive anything from the Lord…and that they will be unstable in everything that they do.

In verses 7-8 James says that we should not fool ourselves and think we will receive wisdom from God when we have an undivided heart towards Him and are double-minded.

As a result of being double-minded, the one who doubts will be unstable in all his ways.

Someone who is unstable is restless, always nervous, always anxious, always uncertain because their heart is divided...because their feet are not firmly planted on the rock of the foundation of Christ, they will be tossed to and fro like a wave of the sea...they will not be able to remain steadfast during the trial.

Those who are astray from God are always troubled and have no inner, or outer rest apart from Him.

In these verses, James is determined to show that there is no safe middle ground between faith and unbelief…A christian who is divided or “double-minded” in his faith is an oxymoron.

Conclusion

So what about you? Do you have an undivided trust in the ever-wise and all-generous God to give you wisdom during trials…or are you divided in your loyalties to God…having a foot in both camps…trying to serve two masters?

Are you going to believe God and who He is....or in your pride, are you going to doubt his goodness, his wisdom, his love for you…and think you know what is best in how to handle trials?

If we are ever tempted to doubt God’s goodness, character, and love for us....may our eyes be shifted to the cross of Christ…for God has proven he is trustworthy, he’s proven he is generous, he has proven that he loves us, because HE GAVE EVERYTHING TO US BY SENDING HIS SON TO DIE FOR US…WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS....WHILE WE HATED HIM....WHILE WE WERE HIS ENEMIES.

Romans 8:32 says, he who did not spare his only son but gave him up for us all, how will he not with him freely give us all things!?!?!?!?

Going back to the story of the father and son in the pool at the introduction....