ASKING IN FAITH October 7 Read James 1:5, 6. How is wisdom different from knowledge? What connection does James make between wisdom and faith? It may seem a bit odd that James says, “If any of you lacks wisdom.” Who thinks he or she has enough wisdom to begin with? Solomon, for instance, recognizing his need, humbly asked for “an understanding heart to . . . discern between good and bad” (1 Kings 3:9). Later, he wrote: “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). We tend to think of wisdom as that which we know. How do the following texts, however, show us what another side of true wisdom is? James 1:19–21; 2:15, 16; 3:13. Both Proverbs and James describe wisdom as something very practical: not what we know but how we live. For example, being “quick to listen, slow to speak” (James 1:19, NIV). Plato said, “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they would like to say something.” In other words, we can have all the knowledge the world offers but lack true wisdom. Of course, because God is the Source of all true wisdom, we gain wisdom most by listening to Him—reading His Word and spending thoughtful time contemplating the life of Christ, “who became for us wisdom from God” (1 Cor. 1:30, NKJV). By learning to reflect the character of Christ in our own lives, we live out the truth as it is in Jesus. That is true wisdom. Read James 1:6 again. We must ask in faith, not doubting. Isn’t that sometimes hard? Who doesn’t, at times, struggle with doubt? When that happens, what’s crucial is to pray and to start dwelling on all the reasons we have for faith: the story of Jesus, the prophecies in the Bible, and our own personal experiences. How could doing this help us work through whatever doubt might occasionally arise?
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 05:47:26 +0000
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