Ask God for wisdom

Do you realise that you can ask God for what you don’t have? 

It might be that you’re short of cash, that you are struggling academically, suffering physically, lack patience, peace or understanding. For any of these things, and many more, you can ask God to provide. When we have lack, we seek to gain more, and asking our loving Father in heaven to provide is a natural thing to do if you believe there is a God. 

There is one thing that we all lack, but I wonder if you ever ask God for it, and that is wisdom.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.*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.*7*For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;*8*he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 

James 1:5–8.

James encourages us in these verses to earnestly ask God for wisdom. Not to be smart, clever or knowledgeable, but wise. This is because wisdom is not just about knowing and recalling information, but is about having knowledge, experience and good judgement. A wise person understands and is able to apply what they know. They have the ability to understand how to respond to situations and they do it. Wisdom effects behaviour because the wise apply what they know to what they do. Do you think you're wise? Do you ever think to ask God to help you become wiser? 

If you and I had greater wisdom, then surely some of the things we struggle with in life might be a bit easier to manage, or we may even find solutions to them. With increased wisdom some of the things we already ask God to provide like patience and peace would surely follow if we understood and were able to apply that understanding to our lives.

Compared to God, our lack of wisdom is outstanding, He is after all, omniscient (all knowing!) and we are not, yet do you ever ask Him for it? Not just insight for a particular time or situation, but, like Solomon did, do you ask for wisdom so that you can lead life well and do the best with what you have got? 

I think we can be fooled into thinking that as the world is full of information and knowledge, we believe that we already have insight and capability. At no time in the world's existence has there been so much information so readily available, so we can mistakenly believe that knowing stuff is wisdom. However wisdom is not just about knowing things or being able to relay facts and statistics. There's a difference between being clever and wise. Wisdom is applied knowledge, applying understanding to what you do and say. You cannot get that from the internet or even from professors. God is the best one to provide it. He after all, has existed through every age and kept humanity and creation going so He has the applied understanding and knowledge to sustain life and relationships. Do you want some of the wisdom He has? 

God can so easily and readily supply and fulfil any desire for wisdom, yet when you do seek Him for it, consider how you ask, ‘‘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’. When you ask God, do you really believe God can and will do it? There's quite a stark warning here about how you approach God. James is making it very clear that God is not to be doubted. It is ok to acknowledge that you do not deserve what you ask God for, but you cannot doubt God’s goodness, capacity or wisdom. God is a loving, capable and generous father, and He wants you to have wisdom, as well as so many other things therefore you can be confident that He will provide. 

When I ask my earthly Dad something, I expect him to reply, I don’t doubt that he will. He is a good Dad, and wants good things for me. I do not always know how he will respond, what he will do or say, but I do expect to get some kind of response when I speak to him. Therefore, as imperfectly wonderful as earthly Dads can be, can we not expect our Heavenly Father to do the same? 

God may not respond in a way that you can predict or even want, but He loves to hear how He can help you. He likes to hear what you are yearning for and stretching for, and He wants to give you things including wisdom. So, when you approach God and ask, do so confidently. Do not doubt God's capacity, desire or love for you. You may not be confident in yourself, but you can be confident in the One you are asking. So, today, do you desire wisdom? If so, go ahead and ask, and expect to receive.

how do you explain the inexplicable?

 We have read how Belshazzar was terrified by the mysterious hand writing on the wall, now we see his response as he responds to the shock;

7*The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” *8*Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. *9*Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his colour changed, and his lords were perplexed. 

Daniel 5:7–9.

Can you see his desperation?

The king is so alarmed that in the midst of the celebration he ‘cries aloud’, surely an unnerving response for a king. Then he orders the infamous wise men to come, they are summoned by the king’s command in the midst of the celebration. These worldly experts are are faced with the terrified king, a grand audience and are requested to read and interpret some mysterious writing. Doesn’t sound like such a tough job - to read something, but they cannot. They too are puzzled by this writing and the terror of the king increases as he realises his own intellect and that of the 'experts' has been outwitted. Where else can he turn?

The very people that are meant to be able to help, to bring answers and comfort have nothing. Known for their arts, knowledge and understanding, what a disappointment the 'wise' must have been to themselves and the king as they are shown not to be able to even read! What a contrast to what the king, the thousand people present and even the wise men expected. 

This is what can result when we rely on worldly things - whether that be understanding, material goods or even 'experts' - we, at some point, will be disappointed and let down. The king already felt; scared, confused and terrified, he became more so as he realised that all the resources he was dependent on failed. There are times when all the explanations, reasonings and insights are not enough, when they do not provide answers that suffice - .what then?

Are you prepared to put aside your dependence on your own understanding, and consider that there is something ‘out of this world’ going on? That even, perhaps, there IS a God that is trying to get your attention by allowing you to see that your resources - however vast, experienced, and dependable they have previously seemed - are not enough. Or do you decide to bury those events deep inside and not even face them because you cannot comprehend them? Having to live without the answer. 

King Belshazzar was not prepared to do that - he did all he could to seek out what this event meant. He used all of his resources, and those of others he knew, and still he was left ‘greatly alarmed’, and others also became ‘perplexed’ as there seems to be no reasonable explanation. Where do you go then?

have you attained maturity?

11*About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. *12*For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, *13*for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. *14*But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:11–14.

Are you drinking milk or solid food?

This passage is a challenge to us to consider our maturity in faith. It causes us to consider our own maturity.

From this passage, spiritual maturity comes down to whether you are putting into practice your faith or not (v14).
So are you? Are you regularly acting and reacting from a place of faith in God?

v14 tells us that part of growing up in faith is being able to distinguish good and evil, yet it is not only being able to tell the difference, but being able to put the right way into practice. In the everyday challenges of life, in the little, unseen moments, how are you responding? Are you walking right even when no-one else knows about it? Are you putting into practice the things God is prompting you about?
The way to maturity is distinguishing and practicing what you know God’s will is - walking in faith means you will grow up and become skilled in righteousness. Isn’t that something you want to aim for?

What is so important about attaining maturity? Well,  do you want to stay a baby forever?! No-one really wants that - to be fully reliant on others for basic needs and safety, only ever drinking milk and unable to perform the basic functions of life independently. It is essential that you grow up. It is a natural process, we see growth from a baby to a toddler, teenager and beyond. So it should be as we continue our journey of faith - the longer you follow God, the more you should be learning, developing and practicing the ways of God. As a part of the process there will be; training, discipline, comfort, listening, reading, prayer, challenges and mistakes. Experiencing these things and allowing them to form your character means that you gain righteousness and maturity.

Being mature doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a gradual process. Like learning to ride a bike, you have to take it slow, listen to others, have a go, take advice and keep practicing until you learn to balance and ride. It is scary, it doesn’t feel comfortable, but  it is putting faith in practice that helps us grow up.
Like riding a bike, seeking spiritual maturity means learning from others. You need to rely on others wisdom and experience to give you the wisdom and lead you to practice ‘good’. There are faithful disciples around you, fellow members of God’s church, who will walk with you and encourage you. Seek out those who can help you with the next steps of faith, what is it that God is teaching you right now? Are you ignoring or taking up the challenges God is giving you?
If you are a person of spiritual maturity - do you have the opportunity to teach others? How can you impart the knowledge, wisdom and practice of faith into the loves of others so that they too can grow up in their faith?