Expect Something Amazing

Passage: James 1:2-8
James comes across as harsh.  No sooner has he gotten the obligatory apostolic greeting out of the way than he launches into this little gem:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

This is the New Testament equivalent of your dad saying, “Stop complaining – those splinters are building character” or, “When I was twelve I already had seniority down at the plant.”  James is all about sucking it up and getting down to the hard work of being a Christian.  

But behind his gruff utility is an invitation to a better life.  A life not of practical necessity but of wonder.  The wonder of belonging to a God who is real.  A God who shows up. 

A few verses later James says,

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.

Do you hear what he’s saying?  Not, “Stop complaining about not having enough wisdom and go get some.”  But, “Ask God, and believe that he will answer.”  Expect something amazing.

James, like all the apostles, is the ambassador of a true and living God.  A God who took on flesh and took on the forces of evil.  A God who turned water into wine and summoned miraculous catches of fish and raised the dead.  If you were going to ask this God for something as simple as wisdom, or your next meal, or the restoration of a broken heart, why would you doubt that he could deliver?  “When you ask, you must believe and not doubt…”  Not because God only rewards those who believe really hard.  But because when you pray you’re connecting with a God who is able to do more than you could ask or imagine.  Give God his due.  When you appeal to him, expect something amazing.