Our team at Avenue Church is preaching through the letter of James. There is always more content than can make it in the sermon. I will be regularly blogging through the book of James as a way to go deeper.

We live in a world that often lacks common sense, let alone wisdom. Critical thinking has been tossed out the window as we settle for answers that align with our own views in spite of cognitive dissonance. As a Christian, wisdom is something we are to pursue and seek. We are to live a life filled with wisdom, discipline, and to know right from wrong.

It is not a surprise when James encourages his readers to seek wisdom from God. James writes,

‘If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

James 1:5

If we read this verse in context, James is specifically encouraging his readers to seek God’s wisdom during trials and difficult times. Trials and persecution was the very real circumstances that the church found itself in during this time. By seeking wisdom, Christians avoid the kind of doubt that drives us away from God. Wisdom acknowledges the trials and considers joy because we know that God is still at work in our lives.

This is the kind of wisdom that is needed in the church today. The wisdom to understand that suffering and trials are part of the human experience. The wisdom to persevere through trials where our faith in God stronger and more mature than when the trial began. The wisdom to seek God in the midst of suffering for God is always with us.

Do you lack wisdom? Ask God today (and every day) for the wisdom to make sense of the world and all that goes in within it.