Friday, June 13, 2014

Posted by Niki |
This lesson is entitled “Dealing with Difficulty” for a good reason. We need to be ready for troubles and trials because we know they are coming. We discussed that last week. The main thought for this week is: It’s too late to gain spiritual stability when we are in the middle of a trial. Ignorance will make any situation worse, so God’s cure for anxiety is knowledge and faith. Again, this week we will look at two similar words with two entirely different meanings (last week was joy and happiness). To begin, we will look at the word wisdom. What does it mean? When you google the word wisdom, you get this definition: the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment. In the Greek, the original word used is “Sophia” meaning broad and full of intelligence. Think back to the last lesson in James 1:2, he said to count it all JOY. In order to do this we must have wisdom.

James 1:5 “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.”


He says if any of you lack wisdom. This means if you DO NOT have it. The wisdom we need during situations has three characteristics:
  • It’s practical: God’s wisdom relates to life in trying times. A smart person might have ideas, but wise puts them in action.
  • It’s divine: It goes beyond common sense. It’s having respect for God knowing that his directions are best.
  • It is Christ like: Asking for wisdom is ultimately asking to be like Christ.
Ask of God: It’s not fun to be in a situation where you don’t have the answers you need to get through it. What do you do when you are driving or get lost? You either turn on the GPS, turn to the map, or ask for directions. This is what James is advising us to do. You have to get to the point where you know nothing can be accomplished by your actions so you turn to God asking for his guidance to go in the right direction.

God gives to us liberally (generously) and without any strings attached: He welcomes us and our requests. All he asks is that we come boldly before him and ask for the answers we need. The word “upbraideth” means to find fault in. He will give without scolding us for decisions and choices we might have made on our own trying to fix our problems.

It will be given: This it isn’t just anything – it is wisdom. The wisdom is God’s guidance, not for us to be removed from our problems. We should be asking for guidance and wisdom to remain in His will, not to go about doing what we think should be done.

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