James 1:5-8

Thanks for sharing!

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 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. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”

This passage is so packed with good stuff I hate to squeeze it into just one day, but the ideas flow together and build on one another so we must treat it as one thought. Spend some time with this one, don’t rush through today. Verse 5 starts, “If you need wisdom…” Heads up: we all need wisdom. There’s really no “if” about it. So pay attention because you are about to find out exactly how to get one of the things you need the most. Are you ready for the big secret? Ask. Yup, that’s it. Just ask.

Turns out God is super happy to give us wisdom any time and even if we are in a dumb situation we totally got ourselves into he won’t say, “I told you so.” He won’t blame you or shame you, he’ll just help you figure out what to do. Wow, that sounds really amazing. Here’s the “but”… don’t ask God for wisdom and then hunt down like 15 other opinions too. Godly counsel is one thing, but the morning talk show or the psychic down the street are not on the list. We cannot waver on that. Loyalty to God means your faith is only in him. He’s not on the list — he is the list.

I don’t have to waste time worrying about what I should do. I don’t need to search high and low to find wisdom. I don’t have to bounce around from one philosophical idea to another on some quest for the answer. I’ve already solved that one for myself: God has my back every single time. So what do you need wisdom for today? What situation are you about to blow up if you do not act wisely? Maybe trying asking God right now to tell you what to do. And then listen. He answers back.