Divine Wisdom

Reading from the Book of James 1:2-6

 ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James teaches us that we should rejoice in difficult situations, knowing that through them God tests our faith to bring out patience.  I find that trials do eventually produce patience, but first they bring all kinds of junk to the surface such as pride, anger, rebellion, self-pity and complaining.  We need to face and deal with these ungodly traits before patience can come forth.

⁵ 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. ⁶ 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.

The Bible talks about purification, sanctification, sacrifice and suffering.  These are not popular words, nevertheless, if we are to be Christlike in character, we must sometimes go through difficult circumstances to learn His ways.  I struggle with this process many times with the medical/mental illness my spouse suffers
with, but as I have learned and finally realize, God is not going to do things my way.  He places people and situations in my life that caused me to quit this whole process of trying to do things my way and instead say "Yes, Lord.  Your will be done."

There are two ways to handle problems--the natural way and the spiritual way. To solve your problems and frustrations the spiritual way, simply ask God what you should do.  You may not recieve an answer immediately, but you will find that "Divine Wisdom" (wisdom beyond your natural understanding) will begin to operate through you, helping you to know what to do.