“James, the servant of
God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” knew his readers required the
“wisdom of God” to “let patience have her perfect
work” in trials and temptations. He encouraged them to “ask
God” for “wisdom” because he promised to “give
to all men liberally and upbraids not” when
they ask. In chapter one and verse six of his letter, James
told his reader to “ask” for “wisdom” with
“unwavering faith” where we read:
The
verse begins, “But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering.” James added the
word, “but” which
is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated “let
him” or “the person who
asks” “ask”
which means “begs, call for, craves, desires and requires” “in
faith” or “conviction of the
truth and belief with the predominate idea of trust”, “nothing”
which means “not at all or in any whit” “wavering”
or “being at variance with one's self, hesitating and doubt”.
When people “ask” “wisdom” of
God, they should do so in full belief and trust without any smidgen
of doubt or unbelief.
The
verse goes on to say, “For he that wavers is like a wave of the
sea driven with the wind and tossed” James
continued with the words “For
he” which refers to
“the person who asks” “that
wavers” or “is at
variance with themselves, hesitating and doubt” “is
like” which means
“resembles, matches and copies” “a
wave” or “a dashing,
surging and violent agitation of the sea” “of
the sea” which refers
to “used of the sea in general and specifically of the
Mediterranean or Red Sea” “driven
with the wind” which
means “agitated, motivated and impelled by the wind”
“and tossed” or “to
raise or put air in motion, tossing it to and fro between hope and
fear”. When people doubt and hesitate while asking wisdom of God,
they make themselves like the wishy-washy waves of the oceans or
seas.
When
we meditate upon these words of James, we see his directive for
asking “wisdom”
of God. We should never “doubt” and be in unbelief of the God of
the universe who promised to “give
wisdom” to those who
ask Him. When we align ourselves with His plan of Salvation through
Jesus Christ His Son, we become the “children of God”, and He
loves to dote upon His kids. Lest we dash back and forth between hope
and fear, let us hear the clarion call of God to ask for His
“wisdom”,
and when we do, let us believe in His character that will readily
supply.
Next
time James tells his readers what the person with “wavering
faith” can
expect,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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