WEEK 48 – DAY 5

November 29, 2019

FAITH: CONFIDENT TRUST

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 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. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. James 1:5-7

The Voice translation has a note on this passage that says, “Wisdom begins with knowing and depending absolutely on God.” That is an excellent definition for faith. Faith is confident trust in God not only for salvation but for everything needed to serve Him. Faith needs to be unwavering, not vacillating between trust and doubt. The Passion Translation calls this person who wavers “ambivalent.” James 1:6b (TPT): “For the ambivalent person believes one minute and doubts the next.” We cannot come to God with a “whatever” attitude. We must trust that He is completely able to deliver on every promise He makes. The Voice expresses this well, “The key is that your request be anchored by your single-minded commitment to God” (James 1:6a). Having faith without any tinge of doubt seems difficult for our human minds. However, when we understand in Whom our trust is placed, it becomes easier. Our God is all-powerful, all-seeing, all-knowing, ever-present, and everywhere at once! The ability to trust Him is given to us by Him. The only way we can have faith without doubt is to lean into the Lord, being guided by His Holy Spirit within us. As we yield to His Holy Spirit, we can have faith and be faithful to be instruments of His grace in our world. When we are tempted to waver, to doubt, we need to remind ourselves of the powerful God we serve. We need to ask Him to strengthen our faith that we might trust in His power to provide wisdom to live in a manner that glorifies Him.

Father, help us to cling to our faith when circumstances might tempt us to doubt. Thank You for providing everything we need for Christ-like living from day to day. Thank You for generously answering our prayer for wisdom.