WHERE DO YOU GO FOR WISDOM?

What's the first thing you do when you are so frustrated with your situation that you feel like you could scream, or burst into tears or you just want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over your head?

What do you do when you feel like you try so hard to do all the right things and everyone around you is taking it all the wrong way?

What about when you are in the midst of circumstances beyond your control that you wish so badly that you could fix but it's not in your power to do it?

We have all been tempted to give into trials like these in ways that the world says are acceptable and comforting. For some it may be getting angry and out of control, for others it may be shopping, and for others it may be indulging in alcohol or drugs. The world tries to lead us to believe that these things will make us feel better. But we all know that if we do give into "fixes" like these, they are only temporary; and more often than not, make the problems even worse than before they began.

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. ” ~M. Scott Peck

How do you search for different ways and truer answers?


The fact is, God has made it very clear in His Word what He wants us to do when we encounter trials and temptations. James tells us in James 1:5-6...

"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. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

This is part of a letter that James wrote to the twelve tribes that had been scattered and were facing trials and temptations because they were surrounded by people that weren't from their culture and didn't believe in the same God and Savior that they had put their trust in.

Although this was written about 2000 years ago, God's word is still relevant to us today. God's word does not age.  It's timeless.  His promises are as good today as they were thousands of years ago.

When you face trials and you don't know how to respond, the best thing to do is to....

Ask God for wisdom.  

Ask without doubting.

And...wisdom will be given to you!

What an incredibly awesome promise!

God does not promise to take the trials away from us. Many times, God uses these trials to grow us into the person that He wants us to become. But what He does do, is promise to give us wisdom so that we will know how to deal with the trials; so that we can perservere through the trials, and ultimately become more like Christ. 

Where do you turn when you encounter trials and temptations?