James
reminds us of the pitfalls of relying on both worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom
at the same time.
Verses 1:5 – 8 (paraphrased) says: If any of you lacks
wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault,
and it will be given to that person. 6 But when a person asks, they must believe
and not doubt, because they who doubt are like a wave of the sea, blown and
tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not think they will receive anything
from the Lord; 8 they are a double-minded person, unstable in all they do.
When
we come up against a trial we have several choices … we can pretend it’s not
there or it’s not that serious, we can ask someone for advice on how to face
the trial, or we can pray and seek wisdom from God. If we are honest with
ourselves we would likely admit that most of us use all three options in the
sequence. We tend to seek God’s wisdom last after all else fails.
James
reminds us to seek God first and have no doubts the Lord will provide the
answer. We may not like the answer. We may believe that there is no answer when
God is silent. In reality, no answer is an answer.
I
would suggest we reverse the way we face problems. Always seek God first, and at
the same time use our God-given brain/intellect to seek out wisdom from people
we trust. Frequently God “speaks” through others.
The
double-minded person James speaks of is one who doubts Godly wisdom and does
not expect an answer from God. That person is like a wave of the sea, blown and
tossed by the wind.
A
Godly double-mined person knows the Lord intervenes directly and indirectly
into our lives. Hopefully that will let us sail through life more smoothly!
Robert
Parlante
April
2015
