“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 1:5

Most of us know this verse well if you grew up going to Sunday School and Youth group.  This verse was one of most memorized and quoted in our childhoods.  But plucking one verse from God’s Word does not explain the full wisdom of it all!  When we read the rest of James letter to believers, we discover even more gems of wisdom God wants us to ask from him along with reasons why we must then apply this wealth of God’s wisdom in our lives!  “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:6-8

Just do it! James continues, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” James 1:22-24 James, deemed by biblical scholars as the earthly brother of Jesus, did not believe in Him until later, when Jesus’ work to redeem us was accomplished at the cross.  James knew what it is like to live in doubt.  Then when he believed in Jesus as Son of God come to save us; he knew what it was like to live in trust. James chose to believe Jesus as the way to God.  James chose to seek God’s wisdom in all the details of life. God gave James what he was seeking. James then lived with a heart, mind, and soul fully committed to trust and obey Him. Inspired by God, James’ testimony and message is God-given wisdom for us as we walk with God, trusting Him in all circumstances.

In our next passage, Solomon, son of David, realizes what he needs most as the new young King of Israel.  So, he asks God for wisdom.  Good choice, Solomon!  You could have asked for anything—but you chose the wisdom of God!

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. ² The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord. ³ Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

⁴ The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ⁵ At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

⁶ Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

⁷ “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. ⁹ So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

¹⁰ The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. ¹¹ So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, ¹² I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. ¹³ Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. ¹⁴ And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” ¹⁵ Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.

He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.

A Wise Ruling

¹⁶ Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. ¹⁷ One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. ¹⁸ The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.

¹⁹ “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. ²⁰ So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. ²¹ The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”

²² The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”

But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.

²³ The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’”

²⁴ Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. ²⁵ He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

²⁶ The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”

²⁷ Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”

²⁸ When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The world we live in is not fair, righteous, good, or perfect. It hasn’t been since the fall of Adam and Eve to deny God as the only wise one and follow their own desires.  Satan, God’s enemy tempted them, but they had a choice to choose what God said or what was presented before them that was not of God.  From their first sin of disobedience to God; sin gave birth to more hate filled sins of jealousy, envy, selfishness, pride, arrogance, manipulation of others to get what we think we deserve.  Sin’s behaviors are completely opposite of God’s ways to live.

Solomon was wise enough to ask for wisdom! God’s wisdom gives birth to more wisdom in navigating life in an imperfect world. “…they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.”  People are in awe of God’s wisdom!

Jesus sought God and his wisdom and direction with every breath he took on earth.  Jesus wanted his disciples to seek God and his wisdom, too.  Knowing what was about to happen to Jesus with mock trials, false accusations, beatings beyond what any human should, followed by being nailed to a cross of shame and knowing these acts of violence against Jesus would rock their worlds; Jesus asks his followers, “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Now, imagine James, who saw and experienced.  Imagine James, now with a change of heart, putting all his trust in Jesus as Son of God, his Savior, writing the following words;

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 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 1:1-5

Joy? After all you saw and experienced, James, pure joy?  We question it until we receive it in the middle of our own trials. There is nothing gained from running hard to avoid troubles and trials. But there is everything to gain when we believe what Jesus did for us. Because of Jesus, we can trade our sorrows that sin produces for the joy Jesus provides because of the sacrifice of His life to remove our sins!  My sins, not in part but the whole!  Redemption is Joy eternal, unchanging, and stable. Not like the winds of unbelief!  This Joy comes from Jesus defeat of death to resurrected life which completed the mission to remove the sins of the world. For all who believe; it is joy that resides deep inside us and it is unspeakable, indescribable, and glorious—for this joy is salvation from God—pure joy!

God’s love for us fills us with this Joy! God’s plan includes teaching us His joy in all circumstances.  Joy, love, peace are keys to endurance and perseverance here until we see Jesus face to face there.  “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.”—Paul, Romans 5:3

Romans 8:38-39: This joy filled passage explicitly states that nothing, including “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. This declaration emphasizes the unwavering and unbreakable nature of God’s love for those who are in Christ Jesus.

God is Love, Joy, and Peace eternal who pours out His wisdom to those who ask.    

Our response?  Ask God for His wisdom with a desire to do what He says when He says it. Live in expectant hope as He pours out all He knows we need when we need it most. This is the treasure we seek—God’s glory at work in all the details of our lives!

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12

Lord,

I cry out for your wisdom this morning. You know the trials we face.  I trust you for bringing us through it all with help to endure to preserve it ways that build our faith. You are God. We are not. All my trust is in you. You are everything we need.  You have already given us more than enough.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen