NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Romans 7-8
SCRIPTURE READING
James 1:5 (NIV); If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all
without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
We could decipher this verse to mean that God is similar to a vending machine: put in a dollar,
get out some wisdom. But what if we ask for wisdom and seem to receive nothing? Where does
this verse stand during those times when we ask God for His guidance and receive silence?
When we read on in James, we are given a warning that those who doubt the truth of God’s
generous wisdom will not experience it. But what about those who really do have faith?
Society pushes independence as power – those who don’t have anyone telling them what to
do are admired as free beings. And if man were the measure of all things, this would be true.
But no matter one’s rank or title, God presides high above them all. Man will never match His
glory or power, and this realization removes the pressures of society and brings true freedom.
In God’s kingdom, dependence is a virtue. And this is one reason why faithful people can still
experience lapses of silence when they are truly seeking God’s purposes. If God’s answers
were always clear and concise, pride and self-dependence would soon follow. Hearing God
would become a checkmark on our list of accomplishments. Rather, God asks that we depend
on Him and trust that His wisdom and direction comes at a perfect pace and in a perfect way.
No one whose hope is in the Lord will be put to shame!
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. When and how have you been pursuing God’s purposes and received silence? How have
you experienced frustration?
2. Ask God to reveal if there is any unconfessed sin or lack of faith that is standing in the way,
and confess anything that is brought up.
3. How have you been depending on yourself and your own power in your life? Confess and
ask God to give you an understanding of His trustworthiness and perfect nature through a
picture, scripture or thought. Pray that you would shift your dependency totally onto Him.
