Wisdom for Troubled Times

Wisdom for Troubled Times

“Wisdom for Troubled Times”
(James 1:5-8)
Series: Living the Faith (James)

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson

•Take your Bibles and join me this morning in James chapter 1 (page 812; YouVersion).

A couple of weeks ago we began a new series of messages, preaching consecutively through the Book of James, verse-by-verse through these 5 chapters, 108 verses.

Our series is entitled, “Living the Faith,” because James is interested not so much in what we say as he is interested in what we do. James writes not on how to become a Christian, but he writes on how to behave as a Christian. James is principles put into practice. James would agree with a common statement in our theology group on Wednesdays: “Theology is application.” Theology is not just for learning, but for living. Theology is about doctrine on display, living the faith in our daily lives.

And speaking of daily life, we have noted that James begins his letter by giving us the hard stuff first. We might expect him to sort of “cushion us for the blow,” but he doesn’t. He just gets right at it after introducing himself in the first verse. After verse 1 where he identifies who he is and to whom he is writing, he’s just like, “Bam!” You know verse 2:

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

James is no soft preacher wishing to sugar-coat the harsh realities of life, James says, “Hey, trials are coming. Hard times are coming.” He begins with that! I appreciate that. New Christians need to hear that. Older Christians need to be reminded of that. Trials are inevitable.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when (not if, but when) you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (or, endurance).
4 But let [this endurance] have its perfect work (or, its full effect), that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing.

So thus far we have learned that trials are inevitable, but trials are also beneficial. God works through trials and hardships to strengthen us—that’s verse 3: “the testing (or strengthening) of your faith produces endurance; trials strengthen us and, trials complete us—that’s verse 4: “But let this endurance have its perfect work (or its full effect) so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

So this is why Christians can, as James says in verse 2, “Count it all joy,” or, “Consider it pure joy” when they fall into various trials. Christians can joy in the midst of the pain, knowing that no trial is every wasted by God. God doesn’t say here in these verses, “These trials and hardships have come because I am mad at you, or angry at you, or because you have disappointed me for the last time and I’m sick and tired of you,” nor does God say here in these verses, “Gee, I’m sorry this stuff is happening to you, I just don’t have any control over this!” No. James tells us that when we face the inevitability of trials in this fallen world, we must remember that God is working through those trials, strengthening us and maturing us, completing us, conforming us to the image of His Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

How many of us want to be more like Jesus? Raise your hands. Me, too. So God strengthens us and makes us more like Jesus by making us work out in the spiritual gymnasium of trials and hardships. If we don’t work out our spiritual muscles we don’t look like the Lord, we look weak. That’s implied at the end of verse 4.

The end of verse 4: “But let patience (this endurance) have its perfect work (or, its full effect), that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing.

So if we don’t allow endurance to have its full effect, then we are not mature and complete, lacking nothing—but rather we are immature and incomplete, and we lack a great deal.

So knowing our propensity for spiritual laziness, and unwillingness to work-out on our own by disciplining ourselves to read God’s Word or spend adequate time in prayer and witness and so on, God brings the spiritual gymnasium to us, and the spiritual gymnasium is full of trials, and hardships, and difficulties. But that’s okay. We’ll go through many tough work outs, but in the end we can leave the gym looking more like Jesus.

A guy who is regular in his physical workout regimen—people say, “Hey, you’ve been working out! Maybe you can teach me!” But a Christian man or a woman who has been through many spiritual workouts, trials, hardships, difficulties—people say, “Hey, you look like Jesus. Maybe you can teach me.” Trials are beneficial; they strengthen us, they complete us.

So we pick up now at verse 5.

•Let me invite you to please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

•Pray.

Introduction:

Many years ago before my oldest son was born I began a project to restore a bedroom chest of drawers that belonged to me when I was small and had also belonged to my father when he was small. So I wanted to complete this project before Matthew was born so that we could place it in the nursery and he would have it growing up. But it needed a lot of work. And so I stored the chest of drawers in my landlord’s woodshed and I’d go over there after work and work on it.

It still had this strange blend of colors that had been painted on it, popular in the early 70s, a mixture of green and brown swirls all over it. And I wanted to strip it down to its original wood and just stain it so all the paint had to be removed along with, as I discovered, another color of paint underneath it.

And after the paint was removed I had to remove a bit of the ruined wood near the bottom of the chest of drawers where it had gotten wet, a bit of unwanted and splintered wood at the bottom and then sanded the rough edges. In fact, the sanding was some of the most grueling work. It took a long time to sand the entire thing and smooth out all the rough spots before it was ready to have a new coat of stain applied to it.

So while it was unfinished it looked pretty rough. I didn’t have a lot of time to work on it so it sat incomplete in my landlord’s shed for some time. He was anxious for me to finish the job, but I only had so much time after work to get over there and finish it. So it sat there incomplete for several weeks waiting for me to finish the job. Now when I finally finished it, it really looked good and, if it still looks pretty good as both of my boys have benefited from it while they grew up in the home.

In many ways James is teaching us that God is doing a work in our lives that is largely incomplete until He has finished His perfect work of restoration. And just like a piece of furniture, God often has to first “strip us down,” allowing trials into our lives to remove some of the rough edges and unwanted shards and splinters in our lives. He breaks off all the unwanted stuff that doesn’t look like Christ as He tests or strengthens our faith. He sands and smoothes and ultimately restores us into something beautiful, conforming us to the glorious image of His Son.

James has just finished making that very point in verse 4, “But let patience (or endurance) have its perfect work (or, its full effect), that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing.”

And it is here that James then says in verse 5, “(and) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,” which is to say, “If this work I am doing in your life, ‘stripping away and sanding you’ through trials of adversity and difficulty, if this does not seem to make sense to you and you lack wisdom, ask of Me and I will help you out.”

So this is where we pick up as we return to this idea of perseverance. God provides wisdom for troubled times. There is power available to us as we persevere through hardships and difficulties.

Wisdom for troubled times. These verses, verses 5-8, tell us what to do, how to do it, and what happens if we do it wrong. Okay? What to do, how to do it, and what happens if we do it wrong. So first, note:

I. What to Do (5)

Ask God for wisdom

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

God gives His wisdom generously to all who ask Him. So, “What to do?” Ask God for wisdom. “Ask of God.” Note that carefully. Ask of God. He is the One to whom you go. He is the One to whom we pray. The Bible never says, “Ask of Mary” or, “Ask of Saint Monica,” to pray along with you. Ask of God.

The NIV puts it this way, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Ask God for wisdom. And if you ask Him, here is the promise: He will give it. He will give wisdom generously to all who ask Him. He will not rebuke anyone for asking like, “What are you doing here asking me for wisdom?!” He will not turn anyone away who asks for wisdom.

God has an infinite supply of wisdom. Remember what Paul says at the end of chapter 11? Romans 11:33a, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”

Verse 5 is often quoted and used apart from the context. Now it will stand on its own. I mean verse 5 can stand alone. If you lack wisdom just ask of God and He will grant you wisdom. His wisdom is there for the asking. Praise God for that. So you can ask of God when you are struggling with something, trying to sort of figure something out. It may not be a particular trial or hardship, but you’re just trying to solve a solution at work or something and you ask God for wisdom. Verse 5 can stand alone like that.

But the real punch here is that James gives us verse 5 in the context of what he has just said about trials, hardships, difficulties and affliction. It is in the context of God’s working in our lives, testing us, strengthening us, chipping away all the stuff that doesn’t look like Christ, stripping us down in order to “finish us,” mature us and complete us—it is in this context that James says, “Now by the way, if you are having a hard time persevering through the trials, and you need help seeing things as God sees them, then just ask for wisdom and He will give it to you.”

I was helped many years ago to define wisdom this way: “Wisdom is seeing your circumstances from God’s perspective.” Wisdom is seeing your life and your circumstances from God’s perspective.

I think that’s a good definition because what James says here is, “If you’re having a hard time seeing what is going on in your life, ask of God, and the implication is that God sees things in a fuller, more complete way. So ask of God who gives wisdom liberally, generously. Ask God to help you see your circumstances in light of the work He is doing in your life, conforming you into Christ’s image.” Ask of God and He will grant you the ability to look at things through the lens of His perfect, sovereign way.

Wisdom for troubled times. First, what to do? Ask of God. Second:

II. How to Do it (6a)

Ask in faith, with no doubting

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting…

Now at first that may sound impossible! I mean we all doubt, don’t we. We struggle with doubts all the time. What James wants us to do is to see whether our trust is really in God or in something or someone else.

James wants us to guard against trusting in God, but then wavering and beginning to trust in our own natural abilities or our own reasoning. When we do this we are like a wave of the sea tossed about.

The New Living Translation of verse 6 is helpful: “But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

We are to have an undivided faith, a settled trust in God, a belief that He is at work and that He always does what is right. So we must not waver. We must continue to stand firm in our reliance upon and our trust in God.

So when we “doubt” we are in essence saying, “God, I’m not sure I really trust You. I’m not sure I really believe that You are in control and that You always do what is right.” When we do that we are beginning to rest upon our own reason rather than resting upon God. This is the principle taught in Proverbs 3 that many of us know. Hear it again:

Proverbs 3:5-8:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways [acknowledge Him, or] submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

So rather than being wise in our own eyes, we are to trust in the Lord with all of our heart. Don’t lean upon your own reasoning. Reason, yes. Think, yes. But don’t lean upon your own understanding. Submit to Him and He will guide you. So don’t be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

This is what it means to “Ask in faith, with no doubting.”

So: What to Do? Ask God for wisdom (verse 5). How to Do it? Ask in faith, with no doubting (verse 6). Thirdly:

III. What Happens if You Do it Wrong (6b-8)

You’ll be unstable in all your ways

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Trusting not in God but in the world, or trusting in your own strength or your own abilities makes you unstable. You’ll be unstable in all your ways. You’ll be unstable because you tried to trust wholly in the Lord and also yourself or in the world. And you can’t divide your faith like that or you’ll be like a wave of the sea blown this way and then that way and then this way and that way again.

James says if you attempt to trust wholly in the Lord, but then doubt Him by trusting in yourself or the world, then you will be a “double-minded man.”

Literally, it is to have “two minds,” one about God and one about the world; a willingness on the one hand to trust in God, but then to doubt God by trusting in human reason, or natural abilities, and so on.

And the reason this is so offensive is that what we are doing is we are indicating that we are unsure about God’s goodness and character. Think about it: When are we most likely to doubt God’s goodness and character? It’s when we’re going through trials, hardships, difficulties and affliction.

It’s easier to talk about the goodness of God and His gracious abounding love and mercy when we’re not going through any hardships. But when the trials come, we must remember the goodness of God. We must remember the character of God, that He always does what is right. Otherwise, we begin to doubt His character and we attempt to mix our faith in God with our own reason or abilities or worldly advice.

Here’s what being double-minded looks like in the context of trials and hardships, maybe something like this:

“God, I don’t know what’s going on here. I’m going through a trial. I need Your wisdom. Brother Todd preached this passage a couple weeks ago and he said to come back to it when I encounter trials of various kinds, so here I am, Lord. I’ve got my Bible open and I’m coming here and I’m reading that trials are inevitable and trials are beneficial, God You use them to strengthen me and to complete me…but God, I need more help. I need the grace of Your wisdom to see my circumstances from Your perspective. Please give me that wisdom. I need it and I know You have said here in verse 5 that You will give it to me liberally, in great generosity. So please give me wisdom.”

So far, so good, right? So if we go on to say, “God, I believe You. I trust Your character. You always doe what is right so I receive the wisdom You have promised to give me,” then we will grow in our ability to see our circumstances from God’s perspective,” then He will grant us wisdom in the moment. That’s what He promises here.

But James warns that if we don’t trust God and receive His wisdom, but rather begin to waver in our trust in Him, then we are now double-minded. It looks like this:

“God, I need the help of Your wisdom. Your word says ask for it so I’m asking. But God, I’ve got to tell You, I just don’t get it. I don’t know what I did to deserve this. My friends are giving me advice and it sounds good. God, I’ve asked for wisdom, but I don’t understand why You’re doing this. Maybe I should get a divorce. Maybe I should go borrow money. Maybe I should drop out of church for awhile,” and so on. We’re mixing Godly wisdom with worldly wisdom.

When I was small I remember watching a game show called the Hollywood Squares. Do any of you remember this? These Hollywood stars all occupied a square and the stars were asked questions by the host and the star would give an answer and sometimes it was the right answer, sometimes it was a bluff, or just a downright incorrect answer. But they’d give an answer to the question and then the host would ask the contestant, “Do you agree, or disagree with what so and so has said, agree or disagree?”

And then the contestant would weight what he heard and judge the veracity of the star’s answer and so maybe the contestant felt he knew better than the star and he might say, “Disagree,” or maybe he didn’t know the answer and was banking on the star’s knowledge and so he’d answer, “Agree.” And the host would look on his card and say whether the star had answered the question correctly.

And some people treat God like He’s a star in the game show Hollywood Squares. They want His input so they open His Word and God speaks, but they want to weigh the veracity of what He has said against their own experience. They want to weigh God’s Word against their own knowledge or their own feelings and so while God has spoken they may say, “I disagree.” James says they are a double-minded man, mixing Godly wisdom with worldly wisdom.

Where does this kind of thinking lead? Instability. You are unstable in all your ways.

Well, we don’t want to be unstable, do we? So let me share with you a few ways that God grants His wisdom to us when we encounter troubled times. Write these down.

God grants wisdom primarily through four ways: through His Word, through prayer, through the Holy Spirit, and through wise Christians. These are not the only ways God grants wisdom, but these are, in my estimation, the primary ways God grants wisdom.

God’s Word

Read the Bible. It’s not just an ancient near eastern book full of wisdom. The Bible is God’s Word. Read it regularly.

You’ve heard the joke about voting on election day? “Vote early and often.” Read the Bible that way! Read it early and often.

Before you read say, “God, open Your Word to me and open me to Your Word.” Listen to God speak to you as you read His Word and you will be strengthened to stand in the face of adversity.

Charles Spurgeon said, “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” Tweet that later today. A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.

Read the Bible daily, memorize verses like James 1:2-4.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (or, endurance).
4 But let [this endurance] have its perfect work (or, its full effect), that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing.

God grants wisdom primarily through four ways. First, the Bible. Secondly:

Prayer

This is the most obvious way as it is given here in the text, verse 5, “Ask of God.” Pray. Talk to God. James knew about talking to God. James knew about prayer. Church history records James as having the nickname, “Old camel knees.” In other words, his knees had become tough and calloused from kneeling often in prayer that his knees looked like the knees of a camel. Pray regularly.

Pray every day. Pray in the morning. Pray throughout the day. And especially when you find yourself in the midst of troubled times, talk to the Lord. It’s right here in the text: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.”

You don’t have to speak “churchy” words and sound all high and mighty. Just ask of God, asking in faith. A child can do this. Just talk to God.

At the risk of appealing to Johnny Cash as a great theologian, consider his song form the album, “Men in Black.” Are you familiar with his son, “Talk to Jesus?” It goes:

I talk to Jesus every day
and he’s interested in every word I say
No secretary ever tells me he’s been called away
I talk to Jesus every day

Talk to Jesus in prayer. So God grants wisdom through the Bible, through prayer, thirdly, God grants wisdom through the:

Holy Spirit

If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit within you. God is in you to guide you and lead you along. And the Bible says in Ephesians 5:18 that we are to “be filled with the Spirt.” I like to be aware of His presence so often I will be on my knees or sitting at my desk and I’ll bow my head and close my eyes and I’ll say, “Spirit, fill me. Take complete control of my life.”

And especially in these times when we are going through hardships we stop to bow our heads and close our eyes and say, “Spirit, fill me. Take control of my life” and God will guide us. He will lead us to think, to speak, and to do what is right.

You’ll just sense His presence within you and in the moment receive such encouragement!

God grants wisdom through His Word, through prayer, through His Holy Spirit, and fourthly, God grants wisdom through:

Wise Christians

We get by with a little help from our friends, Christian friends. I mean, non-Christian friends can help too, but wise Christian friends are a particular source of strength because they are going to counsel us from the Word of God. Their counsel will square with God’s truth.

So good books full of Scripture and sound theology help us to weather the storms of life. Wisdom for troubled times comes through good books, through sermons, other preachers on the radio or podcasts, or other Christians—wise, maturing Christians—Christians with whom we worship or Christians in your small group Sunday school class.

These are the primary means by which God grants wisdom: the Bible, prayer, the Holy Spirit, and wise Christians.

So let us be wise and wisely apply what we have learned today as together we live through troubled times.

•Stand for prayer.

…1 Corinthians 1:30…Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

 

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.