Daily Reading: James 5:5-8:
”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. 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.”
According to the Apostle John, “not even his brothers believed in him” (John 7:5). That’s incredible. Those who had lived with Jesus for about three decades really did not know who He truly is. Not one of Jesus’ brothers is mentioned as a disciple during his pre-crucifixion ministry. But after his resurrection and ascension, there they are in the upper room worshiping him as God (Acts 1:14).
In James 1:1 James testifies that Jesus is Messiah. It may have taken some 30 years of faithful, prayer by the Son of God, but the miracle occurred: his brother believed.
James calls himself by name a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not believe in Jesus as Messiah, but now Jesus’ own half-brother who was a Jew says He is Lord. James tells us who he is writing too the twelve tribes of Israel scattered among the nations. This epistle is not written to the Jewish race. The address of those to receive this letter as "brethren" in the very next verse proves this. "The twelve tribes" is here a reference to the spiritual Israel of God, that is, the Christians of all ages.
I give myself in service to share the glad tidings that salvation is found in Jesus Christ who is the Messiah (James 1:1).
I believe without a shadow of the doubt, that James who did not believe in Jesus Christ before the Resurrection, asked God for wisdom- and God showed him who Jesus is (James 1:5).
There is something that works to deepen our understanding for our need for wisdom and that is trials (James 1:2). ”Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds...”
People have mistakenly attributed the testing of your faith to God. Actually, the word testing of your faith doesn’t even occur in the Greek original language. The NIV refers to the “testing” of your faith, which is a verb, but the word James uses is a noun that means “trustworthy.” The trials of life are not to see whether we can manufacture the right stuff, for faith is a gift from God and not something to manufacture at all. The trials we face reveal the quality of God’s good gifts. They show us that the faith He has given us is trustworthy.
Wisdom and knowing Jesus go together. Whatever your situation, make it your ambition to know the Lord (Ephesians 1:17). Whenever there is a whatever (should I do) ask God for wisdom (James 1:5).