July 3, 2023
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”
-Proverbs 11:2
A few weeks ago, two of my friends and I rode our motorcycles to New Orleans for the Southern Baptist Convention. A feat that we were proud of as evidenced by the fact that we shared that information with everyone we encountered. If we could have gotten Al Mohler to announce it for us, I believe we would have. On our trip down we stopped in a little town in Alabama, up to that point, the weather had been gorgeous. Every stop, we would check the maps on our phones to see what new roads we might venture down. During this particular stop we also checked the weather and we noticed that there was some heavy rain moving in and it would inevitably intersect with our intended route, no matter how we tried to plan a way of riding around it. Before I continue, I want to point out that all three of us had rain gear in our saddlebags, and it was easily accessible. This is important to remember. When we felt like we found the safest path that would avoid the worst of the rain, if not avoid it altogether, we set out towards the increasingly gray skies before us. Our destination was Meridian, MS and we only had a couple of hours of riding until we would get there. We were confident and happy. That is until we hit Bellamy, AL. In Bellamy, AL the clouds opened and it was the most torrential downpour I had ever ridden in. The rain was coming down so hard that it was impossible to see the gauges on the motorcycle and I could only guess that we had slowed down to about 15 miles per hour. The road was dead level and as straight as an arrow, we were the only vehicles on the road, as far as we could tell, so we pushed on, just looking for a place to pull off and seek a little refuge. About 20 minutes into this downpour a semi eventually did pass us on the left and threw up a spray of water that ensured we were sufficiently wet. Yet we continued on. What seemed like an eternity, but was probably only another 10 minutes, we saw a small convenience store on the right side of the road. We pulled off, dismounted and let out deep sighs of relief followed by laughter at our own stupidity. Remember the rain gear I mentioned earlier? It was still in our saddlebags, nice and dry. We had the knowledge of the impending rain, but we demonstrated a lack of wisdom in doing anything about it, we trusted in ourselves to get by the rain without any issue. Boy were we wrong.
How often do we find ourselves trying to do things our way because we think we know best how to affect the desired outcome? If we are being honest, I would say the answer to that question is “more often than we care to admit.” The Bible talks a lot about wisdom and we often overlook this vital piece of information. James gives us these words in the first chapter of his letter:
“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
Life is very hard, every day we have to fight against sin; we have to fight against the devil, we face big giants every day; we face challenges and hardship at our workplace, at home and all around us.
In order to fight this tough life battle, we need God's wisdom.
In this confusing and chaotic world, what we need most is God’s wisdom.
God’s wisdom is the only way to get through this life, we need the gift of wisdom to be able to navigate through the difficulties of life on this earth successfully. Let’s make it a priority to gain as much as we can.
There’s no need to feel that you have all the wisdom that you need because you indeed do not! At the same time, there’s no need to be ashamed of your lack of wisdom, because we’re all in the same boat, and God will give it to us all!
So, we are told that when it comes to seeking wisdom we are to seek wisdom in faith
We are to ask God in faith! There is no room for our doubt. James tells us this in the very next verse!
“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.”
-James 1:6
This is the type of faith that Jesus spoke of when He healed people.
Jesus often said, “Believe and it will be done!”
That’s the kind of faith that we are to have. The kind of faith that is memorialized in Hebrews chapter 11, also known as the “Hall of Faith.” 18 times, in that one chapter, we see these words “by faith…” Each instance of those two words is followed by the obedient actions of some great Old Testament saint, and then immediately followed by God’s faithfulness.
We are to fight for belief that God will do what He said He will do. In the midst of trials, in the midst of confusion, when we lack wisdom, we are to ask for wisdom from God who gives generously.
When we seek wisdom, we are to seek in faith.
Do we believe that God can give us wisdom? That’s the point! Complete trust in God and His ways is the type of faith that we are to have!
Our faith should not be in ourselves, our faith should be in God.
If He wants to give something according to His will, then He will give it! We receive those gifts that we ask for when our prayers align with God’s will.
So we see that when we ask for wisdom, that the basis of our confidence is not in our faith itself, but in the one in whom we have faith! God, the Creator of the Universe!
