If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God

James 1:1-18 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

² Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

⁹ Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; ¹⁰ but the rich person is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich person, in the midst of his pursuits, will die out.

¹² Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. ¹³ No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death. ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ¹⁸ In the exercise of His will He gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Today’s text says: Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  It is not that we are to be joyous about the trials we face, but rather we are to be joyous in them, trusting God and His plan. Romans 8:28-29 says: We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  God doesn’t cause the trials that we face. He will though, cause them to work for our good, producing endurance, which is vital to our walk in faith. In Matthew 24:9-13 Jesus says: “…Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”  Our endurance in Christ, produces the perfect results of our salvation and our being conformed to His image and likeness. Our enduring, in faith, through the trials that we face is a testimony to all who see us. In John 14:27 Jesus says: “Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.”  In John 16:33 He says: “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  No matter what the trial or tribulation, we can have peace and joy knowing that Jesus has already overcome everything that we will face. We can endure all things with Him and through Him.

The text says: Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.  God does not tempt us, rather we are tempted by evil, by our own lust and desires. Just as God does not tempt us, neither did He create us to sin. Those who justify sin saying this is the way I was created deceive themselves. 1 John 1:5-9 says: God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  There is no variation or shifting shadow with God. In Isaiah 5:20 He says: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  God does not tempt us. He did not create us for sin. He has not changed His mind or shifted His opinion about sin or evil. He has though given us every good gift, including the most precious gift of all, salvation and redemption through the blood of Jesus.

The text says: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.  God will give wisdom, knowledge and understanding to anyone who asks.  The thing is, a person cannot receive the wisdom of God if he or she doubts what God says. If we doubt or disagree with God’s word, why should we expect to receive anything from Him? In Isaiah 55:10-11 God says: As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it produce and sprout, And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.  God will do what He said He would do. He will provide every good thing, every blessing and promise for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He also though will allow every person to choose for themselves whether they will walk in the blessings and receive the crown of life, or to choose death and destruction. In Deuteronomy 30:19-20 God says: I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, for peace and joy; for the greatest gift of salvation and redemption through the blood of Christ. Amen.