Wisdom Requires Faith
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” James 1:5-6
James relays to us an exceptional promise from God. He said that if we, as believers, need a greater amount of wisdom, all we have to do is ask the Lord, and He will give us wisdom freely. He will not chastise us for asking for something that He knows we need. God wants His children to be wise just as most parents desire for their children to act in wisdom. Most parents desire that their offspring think seriously about possible consequences of their behavior before they do something they may later regret. That, too, is basically the main reason that God desires for His children to have wisdom–so that they can use sound judgment in making wise decisions that won’t come back to “bite them on the rear end” and also in order to properly and with honor represent Christ to a lost world. Solomon, known for his wisdom in ruling God’s chosen nation, wrote in Proverbs 4:7-9 about the benefits one receives when embracing wisdom: understanding, promotion, honor, grace, and glory, all things that money can’t buy nor a university degree can provide. “Ask and ye shall receive”, Jesus said (John 16:24).
However, there is a caveat to this promise, a certain stipulation with which the one who is asking must comply: he or she must ask in faith. He or she cannot waver between faith and doubt. James compared wavering to a wave of the ocean that rises then falls. I like to think about it like a rollercoaster: one second you are at the very top of the coaster and then you ride downward at a very fast clip metaphorically leaving your stomach behind. But then you rise again only to experience an even greater drop. This experience does not stop, but continues until the rollercoaster comes to a complete stop, and you get off, to walk a little unsure of your step because your equilibrium has been thrown off balance by your constant up and down ride. One can be at a fairly high level of faith and feel certain that God will answer prayer, but when the answer doesn’t come quickly, doubt begins to settle in, and the person then believes God either didn’t hear his prayer or has decided to ignore it. I do not like rollercoasters or ferris wheels nor do I like experiencing that faith/doubt cycle.
Think about it this way: suppose you asked a good friend to help you with a project. During the time before he was due to come to your home, you began to doubt that he was serious about his promise. You begin to think that maybe he would be too busy to help you, or your think perhaps you were imposing on his free time, or maybe he said “yes” because he felt obligated, but not really eager to help you. The devil likes to make us doubt. On the day that he was scheduled to come over, he arrived on time with his tools, ready to work. All those thoughts and doubts you had caused you to act surprised to see him, and you said, “I didn’t think that you were coming.” How do you suppose that would make him feel? Depending on his attitude, he might feel like going home with the knowledge that you didn’t take him at his word. Who could blame him?
It is true that we can’t always trust other humans to do what they promise. But not so with God. Whether He says “yes”, “no”, “wait”, or “I have a better idea”, He will always come through with an answer which corresponds with His will and not necessarily our will because He knows the future and what lies ahead for us. Wouldn’t it be wiser to trust the One who has the future in His hands than to trust ourselves or others who do not have the foggiest notion what will occur the next day or even the next hour? God is never late, never early, but always right on time.