All this week, we have considered Jesus’ humanity, deity, His perfect stability and His tenderness towards those He calls His own. We know who Jesus is, How Jesus thinks of you, and now we will be looking at the way Jesus works through the storms of your life whether God sovereignly sees fit to calm the storms or not. For this, we will be looking at the first chapter of James.
James is the brother of Jesus Christ (refer to Matthew 13:55) and the leader of the Jerusalem church (refer to Acts 15). James wrote his epistle during a time of heavy persecution against Christians. The majority of his congregation dispersed to various regions to escape persecution, hence the reason he opened his letter with addressing the “twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (refer to Acts 8:1). After his introduction, James immediately encourages us with how we ought to see the various storms of life: “Count it all joy” (James 1:2) for it causes you to test your faith which produces steadfastness, of which we should allow its full effect to perfect/refine us (James 1:2-4). We allow its full effect by not dwelling in the pain of being in the storm, but we focus on the one who calmed the storm in Mark 4, our Lord and Savious Jesus Christ. In other words, rejoice in the storm because it is proof God is working in your heart towards sanctification. This is one of many practical points James brings up as tests of enduring faith. Another point James brings up is asking God for wisdom in faith:
“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.” (James 1:5-6)
In the storms of life, God is allowing you the opportunity to rely upon Him for wisdom, who answers your prayerful request for wisdom generously to you “without reproach”. The Greek word used for “reproach” means to find fault in a way that demeans, revile, mocks, or heaps insults upon the other. How great is our God that He never considers your pleas for wisdom to be something He can’t be bothered with! He delights in you coming to Him with your supplications and so God deserves your full trust. When we ask God for wisdom, relief, or whatever it is in the storm, our heart posture matters. If we are merely going through the motions because it’s what we know we’re supposed to do, that is not doing what James 1:6 says which is to “ask in faith, with no doubting”. Doubting, you see, leaves you vulnerable to being tossed by the winds of the storm and you risk drowning in the storm. But if you trust the Lord to set your feet upon a rock and cling to Jesus as your anchor when you ask Him for wisdom, that is the heart posture that James was writing about. May the Lord grant us that to you and to me continually.
Questions to ask yourself:
- What is your favorite thing that God comforted you with in the storms of life?
- How has God worked in the storms of your life and if you are going through one now, what is one way He is doing so now?
Prayer Prompt:
Thank God for all of the practical ways in The Bible that He has shown you to be steadfast and rely on Him to work in the storms of your life.