The Wisdom of Joy In Suffering 2 (James 1:2-18)
God Gives Us the Wisdom (1:5-8)
What we need to successfully get through trials is wisdom and faith. And we receive both from God; they are free for the asking. A couple helpful things to keep in mind when we read these words: Whenever we see “faith” in scripture we need to think “trust and follow” or “trust and obey.” And, the wisdom seen here is not the answer or solution per say, but the humility of “the Fear of the LORD.”
So, when James says that those who lack wisdom to get through trials simply need to ask God, he does not mean that we are asking for the knowledge of how to get out of the predicament we are facing. Rather, we are asking for the right perspective to face what we are going through in a way that will help us grow as God intends. The faith here is not merely a trust that God will deliver us, but a trust that He knows what He is doing. We are looking for the steadfastness to trust Him to use the trials for our growth, not the secret of the way out of suffering.
And this is how the double-minded description James uses comes into play. He is not saying that you simply need to hear about a solution from God and stick to it doggedly and it will work. In fact, he is calling for an unwavering trust in God alone, not any perceived message-form of wisdom. All too often, people who hear a “word from the Lord” are simply hearing their own ideas and claiming divine insight. The wisdom of humility always remembers that God’s plans are best, even when they turn out to be different from what we thought they were.
This can again be illustrated in the example of Eric Liddell. Most famously, he participated in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. But his best event, the 100-meter sprint, had qualifiers being held on a Sunday. For Liddell this was something he could not do. If his whole motivation for athletics was to glorify God, he could not run in a way that went contrary to what He understood were God’s wishes. Many people tried to convince him to run anyway, even using his faith and desire to glorify God to argue against him. There were plenty of good arguments for him to run. But wisdom dictated that he stick to his convictions and trust God. He ended up competing in an event where he was much weaker by international standards. (Again, that 400-meter!) He drew the outside lane, meaning that he would not be able to see any of his competitors. As a result, he did something that was not done at the time, he ran a full out sprint the whole way. He ended up breaking both the Olympic and world records.
When we face difficulties or trials, we turn to God. Not for a way out or a rescue, but for the means to face the test in a manner that will glorify Him and strengthen our ability to trust and follow. A rescue could come, but that is up to God. The worst thing we can do is pray, but then set about looking for other options. In the Old Testament, we saw that when God’s people looked to YHWH AND Baal. Today it is often seen when we trust God AND money…
If we are generous with the film, the following spiritual message is good, but it could be fleshed out a lot more.
What we need to successfully get through trials is wisdom and faith. And we receive both from God; they are free for the asking. A couple helpful things to keep in mind when we read these words: Whenever we see “faith” in scripture we need to think “trust and follow” or “trust and obey.” And, the wisdom seen here is not the answer or solution per say, but the humility of “the Fear of the LORD.”
So, when James says that those who lack wisdom to get through trials simply need to ask God, he does not mean that we are asking for the knowledge of how to get out of the predicament we are facing. Rather, we are asking for the right perspective to face what we are going through in a way that will help us grow as God intends. The faith here is not merely a trust that God will deliver us, but a trust that He knows what He is doing. We are looking for the steadfastness to trust Him to use the trials for our growth, not the secret of the way out of suffering.
And this is how the double-minded description James uses comes into play. He is not saying that you simply need to hear about a solution from God and stick to it doggedly and it will work. In fact, he is calling for an unwavering trust in God alone, not any perceived message-form of wisdom. All too often, people who hear a “word from the Lord” are simply hearing their own ideas and claiming divine insight. The wisdom of humility always remembers that God’s plans are best, even when they turn out to be different from what we thought they were.
This can again be illustrated in the example of Eric Liddell. Most famously, he participated in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. But his best event, the 100-meter sprint, had qualifiers being held on a Sunday. For Liddell this was something he could not do. If his whole motivation for athletics was to glorify God, he could not run in a way that went contrary to what He understood were God’s wishes. Many people tried to convince him to run anyway, even using his faith and desire to glorify God to argue against him. There were plenty of good arguments for him to run. But wisdom dictated that he stick to his convictions and trust God. He ended up competing in an event where he was much weaker by international standards. (Again, that 400-meter!) He drew the outside lane, meaning that he would not be able to see any of his competitors. As a result, he did something that was not done at the time, he ran a full out sprint the whole way. He ended up breaking both the Olympic and world records.
When we face difficulties or trials, we turn to God. Not for a way out or a rescue, but for the means to face the test in a manner that will glorify Him and strengthen our ability to trust and follow. A rescue could come, but that is up to God. The worst thing we can do is pray, but then set about looking for other options. In the Old Testament, we saw that when God’s people looked to YHWH AND Baal. Today it is often seen when we trust God AND money…
If we are generous with the film, the following spiritual message is good, but it could be fleshed out a lot more.
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