James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
No Better Than Its Source
If I were to ask you what you had to eat yesterday, you probably would refer to breakfast, lunch, and supper. But it is nothing short of shocking to realize what we eat and how much we eat between our meals. For some of us, what we snack on would be more than what we actually eat at designated times. The same is true of our mental diet. If I were to ask you what was going on in your mind, you might say, “Well, I attend church Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.” Yes, but things like your smartphone and a thousand other sources are pumping your mind full of “worldly wisdom” every day. That’s why, when we need wisdom, it is important to know whom we are to ask.
James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.” I am to ask God for wisdom as opposed to asking for wisdom from any one of a number of other voices clamoring for my attention. Your wisdom will be no better than its source. James goes on to say that God will give that wisdom generously and won’t scold you for asking. Then, in verse 6, James says, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” A person who wavers in his faith is like a tempest-driven wave of the sea.
If I am to ask in faith, nothing wavering, to what is that a reference? Wavering may be a reference to a person wavering between faith and unbelief, but it is specifically a reference to our focus and not a reference to our feelings. In other words, my faith is not judged by how I feel; my faith is judged by whom it is that I ask. Many people ask for God’s wisdom, yet seek the world’s wisdom at the same time. The Bible says that a “double minded man is unstable in all of his ways.” If I am going to ask in faith, my asking needs to be undivided. I need to have a single-minded seeking of God for wisdom.
James 4:8 says, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?” He is not talking about people who are unfaithful to a spouse, but to people who are unfaithful to their God. They are dependent upon someone or something else for wisdom. James 4:8 says, “Draw night to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify you hearts, ye double minded.”
What is asking in faith? Asking in faith is a singular focus on God as my source of wisdom and ignoring other sources. God’s wisdom can be found through godly counsel, or, on occasion, a good book, but the bottom line is that there is only one source of true wisdom in this universe and that is God. Anyone who gives me advice otherwise is not giving the kind of wisdom I need.
Your wisdom will be no better than its source, and if your dependence is divided between God and man, you will waver like a storm-tossed sea.