I‘ve always thought that when you need wisdom, you should just ask God as what is mentioned in the verse above, James 1:5. I often used this verse alone and not in context with the rest of the passage. I just realized that I should have continued up to the next few verses because there is where the author of the book of James provides the condition for God to give us wisdom.
Check this out: v. 6: “But when you ask him, 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.”
See? It clearly says that you need to have faith when you ask God for wisdom. Yes, He will not withhold or rebuke those who are asking, and we are sure of that. The passage cautions us to have complete faith in God
I always had the assumption that one just need to ask God and that’s that. No! The Bible says we need faith. God wants to see faith in us. God wants our hearts to have complete trust in Him. Why ask God for wisdom when we can easily turn our backs on God’s plan at the first instance of difficulty? A lot of people fall into this trap.
God wants our complete trust in Him. Period.
If we cannot show God our complete faith in Him then why bother asking? We automatically ask because we have been taught that God can do this and that. That is where the problem lies, we were taught. What we need is an experience from God. We need to have a personal knowledge of what God can do. When the foundation of our faith is strong, that not even the waves of the sea can make us waver, then God will dispense wisdom in great abundance.
You know what? Trusting God is a great challenge for many. That is why many fail in their endeavors because God’s wisdom is not is not with the effort. We sometimes have the illusion that God gave wisdom, when what we really used is our own skill, knowledge and experience. Sure, the effort may have been successful but it may have been full of delays, errors, heartache and pain. Let me be clear that I am not against sheer determination. We can spare ourselves some self-torture if our faith in God is solid.
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