The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in James 1:5-8,
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."
James speaks of how giving our heavenly Father is. He "gives generously to all without finding fault...". However, he goes on to qualify the remark by saying that those who would ask God for wisdom, "...must believe and not doubt". The person who persists in unbelief "...should not think he will receive anything from the Lord...".
What I glean from this is that our heavenly Father is a giving God. After all, out of his matchless grace, he lavished upon us his Son who made possible our adoption into God's family. As Paul observes this he says, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32.
I also learn from this passage that our heavenly Father is looking to bless those who approach him in faith. It is by faith we receive anything from God. As James says, we "must believe and not doubt." With God, it always has been about faith. Centuries before Moses, Abraham was found by God to have the faith he looks for in all of us. We are told, "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:6. It is because of Abraham's faith that the Jews became God's chosen people and received the promises of God. See Romans 4. He is looking for that same faith in us today. Those who embrace God in faith receive his promises, his gifts, his blessings.
I also note in James' comments that God himself decides who will receive things from him. It doesn't depend on our desire or effort but on God's mercy. He blesses whom he chooses and judges whom he chooses. As Paul says in Romans 9:18, "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden." In that chapter Paul makes clear that God has chosen for himself all who will embrace him in faith, "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." Romans 9:30-32.
It is God's to decide, it is God's to give. How wonderful he has chosen to adopt into his family all who will embrace him in faith! If I had to "earn" it, I'm afraid I just wouldn't make it on my own.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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