We Are needy but you are generous
Once upon a time, a dude died. Let’s call him Jeremy. He went to heaven and at his arrival was greeted by the one and only Apostle Paul. Paul begins to be the ultimate tour guide and points out all the different things in heaven. Soon enough, they arrive at a small storage unit. Out of curiosity Jeremy asks what a storage unit is doing in heaven. It was crowded with shelves full of boxes. What is all this doing here? Paul leads Jeremy to a box with his name on it and says, “Here are all the things God desired to give you, but you never asked for.”
Ask
James 1: 5a “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God.”
Living in the 21st century, we are blessed with so many options. So many places to eat, places to go, people to chat, photos to post, work to get done, applications to fill, etc. However, with that blessing comes the constant bombarding of demands to make decisions and often to make them quickly.
In such a fast paced world, we are tempted to use our own wisdom to make decisions. Many times we believe the lie that if we ask and wait on God, He won’t answer “fast” enough. Even as believers, we often find the wait frustrating that we begin to make assumptions, start calculating and repeating old methods and later wondered why it didn’t work like the first time, without realizing that faith and trust cannot be recycled.
It is crucial that we always live with a posture of asking God for His thoughts. Our inquiries reveal that we are dependent upon God day by day and moment by moment and desire to involve Him in every aspect of our lives, which is pleasing before Him and a true sign of relationship.
Oh, how foolish it is that we have stopped asking the One who knows all things because we think we are too busy or too wise.
Doubt is Offensive to God
James 1: 6 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
I remember my friend once mentioning the difference between surrender and trust. Surrender is the act of giving up our rights to be in control, but trust is an act of giving the right to make the decision upon the one whom you are extending the trust. What is my point? Asking is not enough without having the trust to believe that the asking will be reciprocated with a response.
Before, I used to pray and ask God with a sincere heart to guide, lead, help and show me. I would ask but never really expected him to actually show up, whether by interruption or intervention. I would ask but then protect my own heart from possible disappointment, whether the disappointment of not hearing an answer on time or the disappointment of hearing what I didn’t want to hear.
However, when I read this passage, it struck me that my doubt that God may not grant His wisdom to me was offensive to God because doubt is present when we don’t think someone is capable of doing his or her job right. Therefore, when we doubt whether or not God will give us His wisdom, we are questioning His sovereignty, thus bringing to question God’s capability to do His job at being God.
This type of thinking and lack of faith leads to a double minded and inconsistent life that is filled with instability and anxiety. And the Bible clearly states that we should not suppose to receive anything from the Lord because frankly speaking, you didn’t really believe that you’d receive anything anyways.
The Generosity of God
James 1: 5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Our asking reveals our dependence on God and our faith that He will show up reveals our trust in God. However, last but not least, our level of expectation for God to answer by giving us the specific wisdom we need reveals the measure to which we believe how generous He is.
When we hesitate about whether He will answer accordingly, we unknowingly label Him as cheap and stingy and as someone who withholds. That is far from true because we see in Psalm 84:11, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
As seen in the Bible, God desires to give wisdom to His children. If you aren’t convinced of God’s generosity, look at the cross for goodness sake! With His infinite wisdom God answered the main problem of creation and humanity as the answer Himself in the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4).
What can we do as we move forward? We ask, then we have faith, and then, we wait. We wait, but we wait patiently. Patience is an active and expectant trust in the generosity of God to reveal His will and to provide His wisdom at the right time. My prayer is that we may ask in complete awareness of our neediness but also with full assurance of His generosity to those who ask for His wisdom, for He is never too early and never too late.