James 1:5-8
We find ourselves shifting from the sole topic of trials and branching out to different means to help aid the dispersed Christians and anyone who is being persecuted. The first of these that we will see is asking of God. There are two affirmatives for asking. One found in verse 5 and the other in verse 6. There are two major themes in this passage: wisdom and worry.
- Wisdom (v.5)
James states wisdom in the negative. “If any of you lacks…” What wisdom is James referring to? You could say that this wisdom is to have insight as to what God is doing through trials. That would be adequate to say. The same is true if James is moving to another topic within the trial. For example, James has told us what trials are and their purpose in verses 1-4. Now, in verse 5, James is moving on to the obtaining of wisdom from God.
Just as we are able to consult God in our trials, so we can for wisdom as well. This is a general asking for wisdom, but it tells us something more. God cares about the smallest of our troubles. There is no condition to ask God for wisdom. Whether it be a large financial purchase, or wisdom as to how to best eat healthily, God cares about them, and we can ask Him for wisdom about these things
We all know that Solomon asked for wisdom from Yahweh God, but what wisdom did he ask for? Look at 1 Kings 3:9. He asks for discernment in the lives of his people. And God gives him what he asks for in 1 Kings 3:11-12. This wise discernment is shown to us in the familiar scenario of the proposition to cut the child in half to prove the real mother in verses 16-28.
Why do I bring all this up? Because God does not answer a prayer and then never does anything about it. He comes through all the way until the end. You and I might not see our prayer answered in action for quite awhile after asking. But God does not forget. He wants us to come to Him and ask.
To be able to ask of God is a chief matter because it is what separates Christians from every belief system. No Christian has to go to a human being in prayer to inquire of God. We go directly to God. Amazingly, this was not a matter of debate for James. He simply tells the dispersed brothers to ask God for wisdom no matter the situation.
Because the Christian life was relatively new, there was no telling what further persecution the brothers would go through. They did not know what was coming. This is the context of what James is telling them to do. When you and I don’t have an answer to a situation, to whom or where do we go? Psalm 119:27 tells us where to go, to God Himself. “Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will muse on Your wondrous deeds.” Would the Psalmist have said this of someone who lacks wisdom? This verse heavily implies that God is and holds wisdom. A familiar verse in Proverbs 3:5-7>>>. It is God who makes our paths straight. Only Someone who is great and powerful, full of wisdom and righteousness can make us crooked people straight!
This is the confidence that James writes with. Ask God for wisdom because He has it and will give it to you no matter what. This is the plea of Isaiah. “Seek Yahweh while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).
Just as there was no condition as to what to ask God regarding wisdom, so there is no condition in whom asks God. James says that every believer can come to God and offer his thoughts, concerns, problems, etc. to God. This is just as true for the believer who has been saved for 5 minutes and the believer who has faithfully followed for 65 years. John speaks similarly to his flock. “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14). Again, John does not put a disclaimer as to who can ask. All Christians are permitted to come before Him and ask.
I must confess, I sometimes take this for granted. Sometimes I don’t see the beauty and privilege that I have as a Christian to talk directly to God. Is this true of you? Does this convict you in any way? It does for me. See, James did not take this for granted. He suffered a lot and his constant go to was God Himself for all his cares, needs, and concerns.
Another thing we take for granted is our Christian liberty. Why do I mention this? Because in our Christian liberty we tend to make decisions about anything and everything because we are free in Christ to do so, but how often do we consult the Lord about these matters? Do we seek wisdom from on high about the matters of our lives? I am not talking about church matters alone. Those are easy to give to God because the church is His bride.
I mentioned earlier that we can seek wisdom from God. The question is… do we do so? Psalm 32:8 is a promise of God that “I will give you insight and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” Let us be Christians who seek God for wisdom and trust His guidance going forward.
- Worry (vv.6-8)
There are two conditions that are mentioned in verses 5-8 that of having faith when asking God and worry cannot exist. For us this is not hard to internalize. Any one of us would say that faith is needed when asking God for or of something. Hebrews 11:6 is clear about this>>>. Also, we would all agree that we should not worry.
In the context of being persecuted for what you believe in, James is encouraging these brothers to uphold their faith and not waver. It would have been easy for them to waver considering the circumstances. Yet, for these brothers wavering was not an option.
The same is true today of any one of us in any trial that we face. It would be too narrow to say that verse 6 only applies to persecuted Christians and, therefore, there is no benefit to any one else in any age.
So, what if wisdom that comes from God is how to handle your trial with grace, truth, peace, longsuffering, diligence, and joy? Listen! James is not having these brothers ask so that all their affliction will go away. That is not mentioned one time. In fact, the opposite is mentioned in verse 12! Let’s look at the apostle Paul as an example. 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 tells us of the thorn that is in Paul’s flesh. Paul pleaded with God three times to have it removed, but God said no. Here is what you and I must understand. Paul asked in faith, believing that God could very well remove the thorn and God said no. Just because we pray and pray for God to do something believing that He will do it does not mean that He will. How many times have we prayed for loved ones to get better and they never recovered? It is not because of our doubting that they passed on. But it is because God is sovereign over everything and He permits things to happen according to His will.
For these dispersed Christians, it was according to God’s will to have them spread abroad. They may have asked God for wisdom as to how to conduct themselves in the places they were inhabiting, and God could have very well answered them. Thus, we cannot go to one extreme on either side, that is God always answers prayer or He never answers prayer. James is calling upon believers to seek God in faith with no doubting, believing that God has His people’s best interest in mind even whether we see it like Paul did in 1 Corinthians 12 or not.
The second condition is that worry cannot exist. James gives no room for doubting to live in the life of one who seeks God. Verses 6-8 work together in saying similar things using different words. For example, in verse 8 James speaks of the “double-minded man.” Who is this man? This man is one who goes to God hopeful, but not believing. This can be shown by the many people who prayed to God after the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Those of us who lived through it remember seeing many people praying and church attendance sky-rocketed the Sunday after.
But if you were to ask how many of those people are strong, Bible-believing Christians, the number would be small. Why? Because they wanted to be delivered from the situation, but did not have faith and trust in God. This is what sets believers apart. Proverbs 15:8 shows the contrast by saying, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” Have you ever been told by someone that he/she will pray for you? Depending on whether or not I know their stance on Christianity, I will plead with them to not pray for me because it is abhorrent to God.
Therefore, the one who is knee-deep in worry all or most of the time, I would ask as I think James would, ‘where is your faith?’ You cannot mistake James’ emphasis and critical nature that he shows faith to be. Faith causes us not to worry. This is a simple, yet profound statement that James is telling us.
Why can worry not exist? Verse 7 says that such a one who worries will not receive a thing from the Lord. We see this in our Lord inviting Peter to walk on water. All goes well until he worries about what is around him and what happens when he worries? He begins to sink! Or how about the feeding of the 4 and 5,000? Jesus tests the disciples faith. He says, go feed these people. Their response is that it is impossible to do so. But they missed that Jesus was and is fully capable of feeding them all. We could go on and on about this topic because the Bible speaks a lot about the topic of worry.
God will not reward the one who worries regardless of the circumstance or condition that you find yourself in. Psalm 119:113 speaks of the one whom God hates. That is the one who is double-minded. This should not surprise us, for God despised the Laodicean church because they were lukewarm, neither cold nor hot. God wants for us to be full of faith with no doubting, not half in and half out.
Another reason that worry cannot exist is because with worry, no peace can exist. Isaiah 57:20-21>>>. James' analogy of the surf of the sea in verse 6 could come from these verses in Isaiah 57. But in verse 8, James states that such a worrier is unstable. This is another means of saying there is no true peace in his or her life.
Notice that James says that there is not one area of life where stability exists for a worrier. I can remember talking with someone about retirement a number of times. The one concern was the part b of medical insurance and whether this person had enough to cover it for however long he was to live. There was worry and angst about it so much that I had multiple conversations about it with this person.
This instability could boil down to monthly bills, housing or vehicular expenses, growth in the local church, the church budget, or the return of Christ! God has given us this familiar statement in Philippians 4:7 which reads, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Conclusion
If James were sitting in this room right now, you know what he would ask, don’t you? Are you a man or woman of faith or are you a worrier? Further, if you are a man or woman of faith, don’t get proud over it, but continue steadfast in this way, trusting in God. If you are a worrier, no need to ‘worry.’ All is not lost and God is still at work in you. You do not have to remain a worrier because God has given you confidence that you can ask Him of anything, that He hears you, and that He will take care of it.
Do you trust Him to do that?
