When going through trials do you think having wisdom means you will understand God’s master plan?- If you’re not seeing the big picture is that an indication of lack of wisdom?
I mentioned in the sermon that wisdom is seeing the pieces of your life through God’s eyes, through God’s master plan for our lives, which is to make us like Christ (‘a kind of first fruits of creation’, ‘mature and complete, lacking nothing’). Having wisdom when you go through trials means that you can keep hold of that perspective, even if remotely during the times of acute pain. It is ok to ask God, ‘What is going on here?!?!’, and to express frustration in what is going on (see eg. Psalm 74:1; Psalm 64:1, ‘Hear me O God as I voice my complaint’; and many more). But knowing something bigger is ultimately going on with God’s purpose for us means that we can avoid
Referring to James 1:6; I often find myself doubting and asking questions of my faith- How am I to help this? And is it natural to doubt as a growing Christian?
I would say that it is ok to experience doubt at a certain level as a growing Christian. Even the disciples, in the presence of the risen Lord Jesus, experienced doubt! (see Matt 28:17). Doubt in one sense is the filter God has given us to sift through the varying truth claims that are presented to us as we go through this life: “buy this bottled water, and you will live an extra 20-30 years!” – hmm, not so sure about that! Doubt is created within us in our Christian walk when we feel a jar between our understanding of truth from the Word of God, and our experience. And that is natural in a sense, since as Christians we are ‘aliens and strangers’ in this world (1 Peter 1), we long for home but we are not there yet. We experience the goodness of God, but mixed in with pain and frustration, as God lets the wheat and the tares grow together until the final judgement (Matt 13).
The key, I think, is to let doubt drive us back to the truth expressed in God’s Word – is there a promise or a truth that speaks to my situation that I am forgetting in the midst of what I am felling or experiencing? And if not, remind me again what the God I believe is like, that I might be strengthened and renewed by his character and the way he has been constantly faithful throughout the generations.
As I mentioned, this term’s bookclub book speaks really well to this topic. It is up to date, interacting with the ‘New Atheism’, and well written from genuine experience. I highly commend it.
[Edit: a helpful comment made to me: I think the sort of doubt mentioned in James 1:6 is slightly different to the type of doubt I have discussed above. The sort of doubt James mentions is actually contrasted with belief, and we are told not to have it. This is the sort of doubt that I mentioned in the sermon - doublemindedness, or 'options thinking'. James tells us that when we seek for wisdom from God, we must commit ourselves to him and his ways. A helpful quote from John Dickson's commentary on James (p.20):
In biblical usage, however, the words 'believe' and 'doubt' refer not to the presence of mere 'assent' but to the presence and absence of trust or devotion. To believe in God, or to have 'faith' in him... is not merely to ackowledge his existence; it is to entrust oneself to him. To 'doubt' God is to refuse to entrust oneself to him. James is not saying one must be confident of the outcomeof the request before God will grant it. Verse 6 reads literally: 'Let him ask in faith, not doubting.' The point is, when asks God for wisdom - for knowledge of his ways in this world - one must do so in an attitude of sincere devotion to the Lord.
In the sermon on Sunday, I think I said, 'Ask, and commit yourself to pursuing and doing the answer'. /end edit]
(The one that didn’t make the cut at 7pm- but thought you would appreciate it!!!) : I’m excited to hear you play guitar! Will you please join the band next week?
That’s very kind, especially since you haven’t heard me play! (I begged Bren to let me play the ukulele on the album – he said ‘don’t call us’….)
I see wisdom as an individual pursuit, but how can we encourage the foolish among us to seek wisdom, especially when they seem to think they are already mature & even more so when they are also in positions of authority?
The first thing I would say in response to this is that it is always easier to see ‘foolishness’ (or sin!) in others than ourselves. I can’t remember how many times I have caught myself saying, ‘Boy, such-and-such should have been here to hear that sermon, they really need to lift their game…. oh, hang on, I really should get onto that myself first…’). We should always be ruthless with ourselves before we go to speak to others. So, may I ask the questioner, have you done that yet?
Having said that, there is a place for Christians to help each other out with our walk with Jesus by speaking to one another. There are different types of speech, all of which should be spoken ‘in love’, with the goal that we might all be built up into Him (Christ) in love (Eph 4:15). In other words, we speak to build up, not to tear down. One of the types of speech we are called to do is to rebuke. 2 Time 3:16 tells us that that is one of the functions of Scripture: 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. If we see a brother or sister whom we think might be ‘being foolish’ as you say (especially if they are in a position of leadership), there is a place for trying to build them up by suggesting that their course of action doesn’t really display God’s wisdom. If we speak like this, we must show grace, and be prepared to walk with the person that we speak to help them, rather than just ‘fire off’ and walk away in some sort of smug self-righteousness.
Just how does a person ‘do joy’ when they are faced with redundancy or serious medical news?
Good question. I don’t think that James means we should rejoice in misery – “I’m unemployed now? How excellent! Let’s party!”. Sad things are sad things, and the bible gives us warrant for seeing them as such and lamenting our involvement in them. Ultimately, sad things flow from the presence of sin in the world, and won’t be a part of the renewed creation which God has already begun in Christ (Rev 21:3-4).
The sort of ‘considering it pure joy’ that James is referring to in James 1:2 is a deep underlying knowing that no matter how bad things get, God is in control, and is working for me. It is a knowledge of that that allows us to get back up off the mat, in the timing that God allows. Without plugging in to that perspective, we will shrivel up and become bitter and brittle. As I shared on Sunday night, I think it is intimately tied up with ‘hope’ – the longing for that sort of kingdom that is spoken of in Rev 21, and the knowledge that Christ’s death and resurrection in my place has secured me a place in that future. We can ‘groan with the world’ (Rom 8 ) now, knowing that renewal is coming. I hope that helps.
