James 1 - Lesson

THE BOOK OF JAMES

Today we begin our study of the book of James. 

More than anything else, James is a book about faith.

It is comprised of five chapters and covers important topics such as:

• The purpose of tests,
• The source of our temptations,
• Being doers of the Word,
• Faith leading to works,
• Not discriminating,
• And controlling our tongues.

WISDOM 

We will begin our study today by asking the following question:

• “Have you ever had a major decision that you were struggling with?"

Maybe it was a situation where you were struggling between two options and did not know which one to choose. 

That can be stressful, especially when the decision that we are faced with will have a significant impact on our future or the future of somebody that we love.

In times like this, we need to think about the following scripture and how we can apply it to our lives:

• “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.  For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” – James 1:5-8.

GODLY WISDOM SHOULD COMPEL US TO ACT

As we think about the above scripture, we will point out three important things:

1. God gives wisdom generously to those who ask,
2. We need to trust the wisdom that God provides us with.  If we do not trust it, we should not expect to receive anything,
3. When we ask God for wisdom, we must act on the wisdom that He provides.

God wants us to seek His wisdom through prayer.

Then He wants us to trust it and act on it!

If we pray to God for wisdom and then are wishy-washy about coming to a decision, we should expect to receive nothing.

Conversely, James tells us that if we pray to God for wisdom, and then trust Him, we will have all of the wisdom that we need to make any decision.

The key is to trust God to provide the wisdom that we pray for. 

When we do that, remarkable things can be accomplished!

TRUSTING GOD’S WISDOM

God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

That is what we read in the Book of Isaiah:

• “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” -Isaiah 55:8-9.

If we trust ourselves or others more than God, we are making a huge mistake.

As we see from the following proverb, God not only wants us to trust Him, He wants us to trust Him with every ounce of our being!

• “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6.

There you have it!

If we want to stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to salvation (Mathew 7:13-14), we need to trust God completely, with all our heart. 

And when we pray for Wisdom, we must believe that God will answer our prayer.  

And then we must act decisively!

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT WISDOM

The Bible has a lot to say about wisdom. 

For today’s lesson, we have highlighted the following three verses:

1. “Blessed is a person who finds wisdom, and one who obtains understanding.  For her profit is better than the profit of silver, and her produce better than gold.” - Proverbs 3:13-14,
2. “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” - Ephesians 5:15-17,
3. “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” - James 3:17.

CONCLUSION

There is one thing in life that the Bible says we can have all we want if we ask God for it and trust that He will give it to us.

Here is a hint.

It is not money.

Not fame.

And it is not health or success.

No, the one thing in life that the Bible says we can have in abundance if we ask God for it and trust Him to provide it is wisdom.

Therefore, when we are faced with a difficult decision in life, we need to believe that God can help us and then go to Him in prayer.

Once we have prayed, we need to trust God and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and reveal the path that God wants us to take.

We will end today’s lesson by revisiting this beautiful passage from the Book of James:

• “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.  For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” – James 1:5-8.