You are living out a country song.
Your dog died. Your girl left you. Your truck has a flat tire. And you ran out of beer. You are living your own personal Job story and if your girl hadn’t left you she’d be telling you to curse God and die.
So what do you do in times like this? What does your prayer life look like? For many of us our first question is “Why, God!?!? Why is this happening to me? What are you doing?” And then we have a dear friend take us to James 1:5 and remind us that if any of us “lacks wisdom we should ask from God”. The implication is that when we pray in the midst of suffering God is going to reveal to us what he is doing and what is going on.
And he might.
But that isn’t the point of that text.
There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge, is there not? Knowledge deals with facts and skills of something. Knowledge knows how to change a tire. Knowledge can win at Jeopardy. But wisdom is different. Biblical wisdom is the ability to know and act in a way that is pleasing to God.
Knowledge will say, “This suffering is happening because of X.” But wisdom will say, “This is how God would have you respond in this suffering.” And it’s the latter that God promises to answer. But it’s the former that typically comprises our prayers.
In James 1:5 God promises to always show us how we can please him. Of course if we are double-minded (that’d mean following Him is just one option on the table) we aren’t going to necessarily receive a Word from heaven. But if we truly desire to please God in a situation you can guarantee that God is going to reveal Himself to us in such a way that we know exactly what it will mean to please Him. It’s likely going to be something that points to His Son and calls us to live out of the redemption that He has purchased.
This truth is incredibly freeing. It means that I don’t have to figure stuff out. I don’t have to know exactly what or why God is doing what He is doing. Nor do I even have to fully understand all of emotions in a certain setting and work on changing the way I feel. Instead, I’m called to pursue wisdom—to know how to rightly respond to each situation in a way that pleases God. And we have a certain promise that God will not be hiding behind bushes playing hide-and-seek but without hesitation He will reveal Himself to us.
So in the midst of suffering, pursue wisdom.
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