James (Jacob) 1 tells us that faith produces endurance. “Let endurance have iyd perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without counting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.”
How can we gain wisdom for our trials?
The Bible tells us to rejoice in times of trial so God can mature us. The Jewish people have a theology of wisdom based on the Old Testament. For Jews, wisdom was not an intellectual thing, but a spiritual thing.
Proverbs 9:10 says, “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.” Remember fearing the Lord is respect and reverence for God. Psalm 141 says “Fools say to themselves. There is no God. They sin and commit evil deeds, none of them does what is right. Therefore to be wise is to be obedient to God in our trials, and allow our trials to mature us.
Why do we need wisdom when we are going through trials? Why not ask for strength or grace or even deliverance? We need to ask for wisdom so we will not waste the opportunities God is giving us to mature. Wisdom helps us understand how to use out circumstances for our good and God’s glory.
It is easy to miss God’s purpose in our trials. It is possible to fail trials or to fall away from God instead of getting closer to Him.
One thing I’ve learned and wish I had learned earlier in life is that if you fail a trial and do not seek wisdom from God, you will face that trial again, and again until to pass the trial. It is like going around a mountain 50 times, then realizing you can go up and seek God’s insight for your trial.
It is possible to go from being hurt and maimed in our trials, instead of being healed and strengthened by them. Trials always contain both the ability to tremendously bless us and hurt us.
God uses trials for our good, His purpose is that we grow in maturity and wisdom. We always have opportunities to help others through our trials.
To Gain Wisdom For Our Trials, We Must Recognize Our Need For it.
This is where many fail in the midst of their trials, they simply don’t recognize their need for wisdom and therefore God. This is why sometimes we have to repeat the same trials over again.
When I am in a trial, I always pray,
“God, I ask for Your wisdom and perspective during this trial. Please provide it generously and show me how to see my circumstances through Your eyes -Amen.”
James could have said, “You all need wisdom for your trials” but he didn’t he said, “If anyone is deficient of wisdom.” Possible to make us stop amid our trials and evaluate ourselves, to help us humble ourselves and recognize our need for God.
We need God’s wisdom in our lives daily, especially in our trials. We can tell by how much we seek Him daily or neglect Him in lesser things. We can also tell by how we respond to God in our trials. If we are going to gain divine wisdom to not waste our trials, we must first recognize our desperate need for it.
To Gain Wisdom For Our Trials, We Must Pray For It.
God tells us to ask for wisdom and to ask without doubting. This is not a suggestion to pray for wisdom, it is a command.
To Gain Wisdom For Our Trials, We Must Be Fully Committed To God.
James 1:7-8 tells us If we are unstable in our relationship with God do not think that we will receive anything from the Lord. don’t be double-minded,
Double-minded is to be committed to God. It suggests a person who asks God for wisdom but who isn’t sure they will follow what God says. If they like what God says, then they will obey. If they don’t like what God says, then they will do what they already want to do.
Who ever wants to be friends with the world means they are hostile toward God. To be double-minded means to be wanting to live for God and have the pleasures of the world at the same time.
However, James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. And John 15:7 says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be given to you.”
If we cherish iniquity in our hearts, God might not listen. There is power in the prayer of those who are fully committed to Jesus and living by faith.
Worldliness and compromise make our prayer ineffective, which is a double-minded person’s problem.
From Pity to Praise 