My mom was incredibly wise. She just knew stuff...lots of stuff. She always had incredible insight into so many things. When I was a teenager I could go to her when I was having trouble and she always had something wise to say. Granted, I didn't always want to hear her tidbits of wisdom, but more times than not she was right. My mom had a rough go of it. She had a very colorful life. She lived through incredible odds and always came out on the other side much wiser. She never told me this for sure, but I would guess she asked God for wisdom (discernment and insight) as she endured her trials because she knew what she learned through them would benefit her and others she knew eventually. This past April I had to make the difficult decision to put my beloved horse to sleep. I had owned Sox for over twenty years and I knew in my gut his time had come. I still doubted though and was torn, after all, he seemed to be getting along okay. I desperately longed to be able to call Mom and ask her about it. You know, just to run it by her. She would have reassured me that I was doing the right thing and would have offered me something insightful. To my dad's credit he has stepped into Mom's place rather brilliantly since she has been gone.
James 1:5) 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.
James 1:1-18 is under the tile of trials and tribulation. So how does verse five factor into passages about trials and tribulation? I will share with you what I learned from my study. Basically, testing and trials require special wisdom and insight to cope with them. When times get tough I am thrown for a loop. I lose my bearings and need God to set me straight. I need Him to direct me and get me on the right path and to help me see past the hurt. I need His wisdom to help me see good in rotten circumstances. During these times I need a wisdom that transcends my own understanding. Versebyversecommentary.com said this, "wisdom is biblical common sense. It knows how to use biblical knowledge and knows how to apply the Word to experience." Wisdom does not stop with learned knowledge of the Bible. A head knowledge is easy to acquire. How to apply what I know is the difficult part. True wisdom knows how to apply the Word of God to real life.
How do I get this prized "biblical wisdom?" I ask. I know, how wild is that?! James 1:5 assures me that God will give it to me generously and not call me stupid for not already knowing. Ask means to request or plead for. Seeking wisdom in our trials is an urgent matter. Why? Because I am a sitting duck to Satan lies especially during the hard times
Wisdom is not only gained by the study of the Bible, but also in prayer. If I listen God gives me tremendous insight during my prayer time. He desires to give me wisdom and share it with me when my soul is quiet before Him. He wants to share Himself with me. I have found this to certainly be the case during my Bible studies. He always gives me a great understanding of Scripture because I truly want it and ask Him for it. He makes me much smarter than I really am on my own! I believe the insight into why He has allowed me to suffer so over the last six years has been because I have asked Him to show me what I can learn from this and how I can mature in my faith. I don't tell you this to brag upon myself. Believe me I have learned all this the hard way!
I do not want to spend time demanding to know why He is allowing this pain or being down right mad at Him (though I have my times). I want to grow from this. My friend and I were working out together this morning talking about God, our personal struggles and victories and trying to encourage one another. We get rather deep at 9 am while I'm hauling it on the treadmill! I told Shanda that He has changed every part of me through this. He has left no stone unturned. I find it incredible that He cares enough about my smallest hangups to confront me with them. Having that attitude has made this whole fiasco much easier. Don't get me wrong, I don't always have that attitude, but that is my goal. With God's grace it is possible.
Along with strength, patience, and grace we must also ask God for wisdom when heading through a crisis. I do not want to suffer needlessly. I want my suffering to count for something and I need Godly wisdom to not miss an opportunity. I do not want any crisis to be wasted. I encourage you earnestly seek the Lord for wisdom as you go through hard times. He promises in James 1:5 to give it to you and He won't belittle you for not knowing already.
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