How many wives have said this to their husband:
Wife: Honey, I think we are lost. Maybe you should stop and ask for directions...
And as man, the response is usually not a very kind one. We hate to ask for help. We want to be "the man" and know all but sadly we don't. Not even close. There are times where we have to simply humble ourselves and ask for help. This applies in a great many areas but most importantly in our relationship with God.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5-8 ESV
Wife: Honey, I think we are lost. Maybe you should stop and ask for directions...
And as man, the response is usually not a very kind one. We hate to ask for help. We want to be "the man" and know all but sadly we don't. Not even close. There are times where we have to simply humble ourselves and ask for help. This applies in a great many areas but most importantly in our relationship with God.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5-8 ESV
James 1:5 tells me that any man who wants wisdom from the heart of God must simply ask for it and that God will most certainly give it to him. But James qualifies the promise, telling me that the man who wants wisdom must ask in faith without doubting and that if he doubts, he can't expect to receive anything from God.
In my own life, I usually ask for wisdom when it's in connection with a specific situation or issue in my life. But what I have learned from reading James is that doubting men are "unstable" in not just the current situation, but in "all they do." Doubt is a cancer that has plagued men throughout history, including this one.
A doubting, unstable man cannot be trusted. That is why it isn't wise to hitch your wagon to someone who overreacts emotionally, often changes his mind, and never follows through on anything. An unstable man is not just unstable, he is unwise. His doubting nature causes him to constantly be plagued by indecision. Therefore, he can ask for wisdom, but he won't get it.
I think that times, every man suffers with doubt in their lives. It is when we doubt that we allow the enemy a foothold to plant a seed of confusion in our life and if not plucked out at the root we become unstable and unreliable.
As I have grown in my walk, I have learned that receiving wisdom is a two part process. First, you ask the Lord for wisdom and then you ask God to give you the courage to follow through on what He tells you to do.
When you ask for wisdom, make sure to ask God the direction for the next step. When He shows you what He wants you to do, DO IT! Take a step in faith, even if the step is frightening or doesn't make sense. We have to show the Lord that we are not a doubting man. When we show Him that our faith is place solely in Him and not our own power He will most certainly shed light on the path we are to follow.
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