Wisdom in Trials

Christ is my firm foundation, the rock on which I stand. When everything around me is shaking, I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus, because he's never let me down. He's faithful through generations, so why would he fail now? He won't. Christ is our firm foundation. We are not promised situational relief. Our circumstances might change. We are promised that we have a foundation to stand on, and that is Jesus Christ. That's going to be super important for us as we jump into James today. If you were here last week, Thomas started us off on week two of our study in the book of James. Count it all joy when you incur trials of many kinds and walked us through what that looks like.

We're going to pick it up today in chapter 1, verses 5 through 8. What happens when we don't know what to do? So let me set it up for you. We're going to start with this. This way. This is the kind of illustration, at least the image in my head that has helped make all of this

Become a little bit more tangible and real for me. I've got six children. I've shared that with you before. My youngest daughter, McKinley, is 10. But seven years ago, she was three. And it was the summer, so she was about 3 and 1 1, and she was on year two of swim lessons. We live in Arizona. Every good parent teaches their kid to swim early, because death lurks everywhere in everyone's backyard. So here she is. She's 3 and 1 1. She is learning how to swim. She cannot swim. She is learning how to swim. What she can do is she can grab onto the side of that wall and do laps around my parents' pool like a NASCAR racer.

She is great at that. But to let go of the wall and to be out in the water terrifies her. So I'm watching this happen as she's doing laps around the pool and starting to think, what am I paying for? Anybody could do that. Where's these swim lessons? Let's put these things into practice. And so I take little McKinley out, and I set her right on the edge of the pool. And I get in the pool, maybe about a foot and a half away. And I go, hey, come on, bud. Jump out to me. I got you.

And there she sits. No, no, no. Hey, it's me. I got you. I'm right here. Look, I'm right here. OK. And you could tell she was, OK, I think I can do it. And then she would get right up to the edge of the pool, and she would kind of get ready to go. But then she'd squat way down. Her knees would start wobbling. OK, yeah, yeah.

20 minutes debating. Come on, please. I'm right here. I'll catch you. Finally, she takes her first leap into the pool, little wobbly knees. And she takes that step, and she falls forward. And this is when I realized she was going to be an athlete. Because mid -fall, she spins around and then, bang, grabs onto the side.

Oh, we were so close. 20 minutes later, put her back up there. Come on, you can do it. And I can see in her brain all these thoughts, this debate back and forth. What happens if I go underwater? What happens if I forget to hold my breath? What happens if I don't come up? What happens if they don't save me? What do I know about dad? Well, I know dad says he'll catch me. He's never dropped me before. He's never failed me before.

He's standing. He's not even swimming. He's not going anywhere. Man, do I trust what he's asking me to do or don't I? And as this debate went back and forth in her little brain, and I sat there just pleading, here I am. I am ready. Guys, I was so close. I don't even think she would get wet if she jumped. I just catch her right there. You did it. What am I going to do? What am I going to do? On and on, and just this angsty.

That's the trial. As James speaks of, count it all joy in the midst of trials. The trial is not jumping. God's going to catch. Christ is our firm foundation. He's never going to fail. The result is up to the Lord. He's already seen it all play out. And ultimately, if you know Jesus in here, you know how this whole thing ends. No matter what life throws at you now, eternity awaits. We win. The trial is not in the doing. The trial is in the action. The trial is in that moment of asking ourselves, are we going to step out in faith and trust or not? It's that moment of unknown, that uncertainty, that what's going to happen?

Man, very important for us to ask a very important question in those seasons, in those moments. At the edge of the pool, when God's going, I'm right here. I'm asking you, do something you're unsure of. What's God up to? What's God up to in your soul? What's he trying to teach you in that moment? He's trying to teach you something. He's trying to reveal something about himself, something about you, something about the world around you. God is trying to teach you something. What is God up to?

So often, we can pass that up. We can bypass that and go, OK, God, but here's what I want. Get me out of this circumstance. Get me out of this situation. I want relief. Thomas talked about that last week. I just want out.

Part of the beauty of a trial is to actually sit and ask God, what are you up to? Because he's asking us to take a leap, a step, a jump, so that we can grow stronger. That was a promise last week. Let me read for you our three verses today. In chapter 1, verse 5 says this. Thomas talked all about, look, lean into trials. It's going to help you grow, make you stronger, and you're not going to lack anything. But then we get verse 5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God.

What do we know about God? Well, God gives generously to all, without question. If you ask, it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything for the Lord. Why? Because he's double -minded, a man unstable in all of his ways.

What's God up to? What's God asking of you? What's the circumstance or the situation you're in? That maybe you find yourself at a loss, going, God, I don't know what to do. That's where we're at now, to ask God, what is it you're trying to teach me? He's going to ask one thing of us that we would step out and lean into it with faith. So let me pray for us, and we'll continue on in our time in the Word. God, I don't want to even pretend to know what is stirring in the hearts and minds of my brothers and sisters here. God, I know that there are those in the midst of circumstances.

God, they don't make up their minds. They don't make a lot of sense to us. God, I've prayed for three individuals now, just today.

God, they're in it, and they don't know what to do, and they don't know why, and they don't know what's going on. And God, they are very much, as your word has just promised, God, we are lacking wisdom. We don't know what to do. But the charge from you is that we would come to you and ask. And so God, I ask for every brother and sister in this place, wherever they're at, whatever they are walking through, God, if there is any angst, any fear, any fretting, or concern, God, that you would meet us in that moment,

That you would be our good father, God, that we might be able to release some of that angst, some of that fear over to you, and God, that you would stretch and grow our faith as your word promises.

And so God, speak. Speak through your word today. God, as we continue to lean into this, I pray that you would just lead us, guide us, that you would have your way in us, and that you would do your best work in our hearts and our souls. We love you, and we pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. What is this, if anyone lacks wisdom? Look, what is the promise of trials that we learned last week, is that we will grow in our faith. We'll get stronger. So what was a trial for you many, many years ago

Should not be a trial so much now, because you've grown up. You've grown up in it. Again, I've got kids. I hear what the trials are in their life. Several years ago, you know what the trial was for Kinley? The trial for Kinley was, who am I going to sit with at lunch? Who's going to trade me for my pudding cup? What happens if they don't like me? Dad, a boy chased me on the playground today. It was the worst day ever.

Dad, he called me a doofus head. Hey, trial. Big trial for a seven -year -old. Let me sit in that. Let me lean into that. Let me walk you through that. But you know what the goal is? Is for that not to be a trial when she's 46.

I had six people give me the bird on the freeway just this week. I don't care. I don't come into the office going, Thomas, oh, they gave me the finger. Oh, I've grown up. I don't care.

No, when I was seven, probably would have bothered me. Why would they do that? What did I do to them? You grow up. And yet there's still going to be things down the road. You can't just keep growing, growing, growing without ever leaning into something new. There's a new trial right around the corner. Some of us are in it right now.

And we find ourselves in a situation when we go, this is new territory. I've not been here before, and I am freaking out. I lack wisdom. I don't know what to do. And just like the psalm that Todd read earlier, Psalm 37, speaks of this. This idea of fretting. It's a beautiful psalm. It speaks a lot to don't get so worked up when you see wicked people prosper, because of the injustice of that. But multiple times, it does say the same phrase over and over again. Fret not, for it tends only to evil. Fret not, it tends only to evil. When we find ourselves in the midst of a circumstance, a trial, a situation, and we don't know what to do, we've got a choice to look to God and go, God, the promise of God is that he will give generously to all.

He's got all the answers. He knows how this plays out. He knows everything there is to know, and he has all the power to do whatever he wants to do. And we can go to him and go, God, I need your help. Or we can fret, and we can worry, and we can get spun up. But what about it?

And we worry. Psalm 37, fret not, tends only to evil, only produces evil things in your heart, produces anxiety, fear. Or you can trust in the Lord, commit your way to the Lord, allow him to act. What did the Psalm say that Todd read earlier, right? That we would sit and be still and wait for the Lord. All of that speaks to a posture of, God, I don't know what to do, but I trust you.

That's what he's asking. Why? Because he's going to give generously to all without reproach. What does that mean? What is this without reproach? Literally, it means this. God is not going to be a condescending giver of his wisdom. If I were to go to God right now and just say,

Tony called me a duty head, and God, my life is now, I just, I can't deal with it. God's not going to look at me and go, Kevin, are you kidding me? Duty head again? Didn't we go through this when you were seven? What's the matter with you? Have you not learned anything? Have you not grown up? That's not how God operates.

God's going to look at me and go, all right, son, whatever you need in this moment right now, I will give generously, because my only goal is to help you grow. That's how God is. That's how God operates. Ready to give freely to all without reproach, the enemy can tend to get in our ear and almost fill us with some sense of shame of like, you should know better. Don't go to God with that. What would God think? You know what God's going to think? You're coming to him asking for wisdom, the only one that knows everything and has all the power to do it. So just go to the Lord.

Just go to the Lord and say, I need you. I don't know what to do. We've read through it before, but 2 Chronicles 20, if you're taking notes, just write it down. A great passage to read. Here, a king just sits there and goes, I don't know what to do. And we are helpless.

But his prayer is, our eyes are on you, Lord. You are the one that can do what you do. That is the prayer of a man that is seeking wisdom. And God is promising to give it to all generously without reproach. But then we get to the next part. We get to verse 6. What's our part? What do we bring to this party? Verse 6 says this. But if you're going to ask the Lord, ask him in faith. Ask him in faith, not saving faith, but in trust in who God is.

Ask him in faith with no doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. That person, the person asking with doubts, must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. Why? Because he is a double -minded man, unstable in all of his ways.

That word double -minded literally means to debate. You're debating in your brain. Do I, don't I? Do I, don't I? Can I, should I? What should I? Eh, eh, eh. Lack of faith. God says, you want my wisdom? You want my instruction? I will give it free. Here it is. But you've got to come. In a posture of absolute, total surrender and faith. No doubting. No debate. So let's go back poolside. I've got a 3 and 1 half -year -old knocking knees, finally makes the jump, and I catch her. You did it. I did do it. I can swim. No, you can't. I can catch.

But let's try it again. Plop her back up there. OK. You're going to catch me, right, Dad? I'm going to catch you. OK. Jumps. Catch her. Let's do it again. Let's do it again. Let's do it again. Guys, by the end of that afternoon, I was halfway across that pool.

I'm ready. She did not learn how to swim that day. I wasn't halfway across the pool because she would hit the water and just start cranking it out. I was halfway across the pool because she was jumping further. Because instead of being at the edge going, I don't know, is it going to? All of a sudden, with absolute zero fear, zero doubt, zero hesitation, half the time, sometimes I wasn't talking to somebody and, hey, here she comes. Oh, hey, Dad.

Halfway across the pool, I got you. What changed? Well, a lot of things changed. But doubt certainly began to creep out in her little brain. No longer was she debating, is Dad going to get me? Am I going to be OK? All she was thinking of, this is going to be fun. Watch me go. I can get there.

That's what trials do. That's what the uncertainty, the unknown does, is every time we take the step, all God's asking us to do is jump. And every time we jump, he catches us. And then he might take a little step back. And now we're, oh, I don't know. God, I don't know what to do. Just trust me. Jump. Catches you. Oh, look at that guy. This is totally new. Now I really don't know what to do. I need your wisdom. I give it. Here it is. Just jump. Meet me here. And over and over and over again, we begin to grow. We begin to grow. We begin to get stretched in our faith. But woe to the man that asks double -minded, that lacks faith.

Guys, I would love to stand up here and go, let me give you the formula. Here's the four Ps of being able to ask God for wisdom without doubt. If you figure them out, give them to me. I don't even care if they don't all start with P. Because I have the unspiritual gift of anxiety and worry. And so, man, I feel. I fret about everything. In fact, I long for the day that I get to teach on favor and blessing and great things. Because God always works something in. So on Friday, I get in my car.

I'm driving. And I'm like, wow, that doesn't sound right. Sure enough, call the mechanic. And I got to get it fixed. It's not good. Not a huge amount of money, but enough amount of money to make you go, ooh. And so that's where we're at. This was on Friday.

And I know what I'm teaching. And God knows, Satan knows, the enemy knows how to get me fretting and worrying. And so I begin to fret. I begin to look. I begin to line up all the bills, everything we got to pay, everything we got to do, all the stuff we got coming. We got a wedding coming. I got a surgery. I got a da -da -da -da -da -da -da -da.

Fret not. All right, let's go to the Lord. God, here we are. Here we are. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. But God, here's what I know. You've been faithful in the past. You've shown up in the past. You've delivered in the past. You've provided in the past. There is no reason that I could not stand here and sing that song. You are my firm foundation. You have never failed me. Are you going to fail me now? No, you won't. And I pray this prayer. And I begin to think, God owns a cattle on a thousand hills. God's going to do. God's going to do. God's going to do.

And there's this sweet moment of utter peace that just comes over. And I go, God, thank you for meeting me in this moment. And thank you for taking all of this. Amen. What can I sell my car for on Craigslist? What extra money? What extra organs do I have that I don't need, that the black market might be looking for? Literally, this is how my mind works.

God meets me in this moment and just goes, oh, Kevin, I got you. Jump, I got you. All right, here I come. Wait a minute. Oh. And I just get to get spun up. And I fret. And I worry. And I'm like these waves getting tossed around. I am unstable in all of my ways. Because in one part, I know what's true. But man, there's a part of me that's so afraid to not have that control. And I worry. And with faith and doubt, working against each other, what does it look like? I don't have the answer. I don't have it perfectly. But here's what I have at least where I feel like I've grown and I'm able to jump a little bit further in that pool.

I spent a lot of time reading about the character and heart of who God is. So when it says God gives freely to all generously, I know that to be true. When I find myself in a circumstance, in a situation, and I'm going, God, I don't know what to do. But here's what I know to be true. I go back to a lot of promises that God has made and a lot of ways that describe who God is. Why do I say all of that? I say that to say this.

Short of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, I would argue this book is the greatest gift, outside of those two things that God has given us,

Is the word of God. You want to begin to pray and pray with a little less doubt? Man, spend some time getting to know the one who is sitting there in the pool going, just jump. I got you. You will find yourself jumping further and further the more you know who this God is and what he believes and knows and thinks about you.

We do, again, what is it? the 19th, 18th?? Your New Year's resolution. I got it. That's the beauty of starting this today. It's not a New Year's resolution. This is a commitment you make to the Lord. We do a thing here called get in the word. Sends you a text every morning, just a passage of scripture. If you aren't ready to jump, get in the word. If you aren't great at opening up the Bible and studying God's word, start there. It comes right to your phone. And instead of figuring out which head coach got fired and how your stock quote's doing and your fantasy football, whatever, just spend five minutes reading the word of God.

Begin to know who this God is. And you know what it begins to do? It begins to stir up and give you a little more confidence in the one who's asking you to jump. Get rid of all doubt? No. Certainly helps. I've shared with you this before. You know another beautiful thing that helps with doubt is making a little list, reminder. If you walk into my office, I can point to a lot of different things that will tell you.

You'll look at it and be like, why do you have a trophy of a chicken? Let me tell you why I have a trophy of a chicken. It reminds me of my time at a church up north and what God was doing in my life in that moment. And so for me, that chicken trophy is just a reminder of God's faithfulness. It's a reminder of God's faithfulness a reminder of God's faithfulness in that season when I needed him a lot.

It's called an Ebeneezer. Scripture calls it Ebeneezer. It's just little reminders, things, tokens, trophies, things that you put around that would be forever a memory. When you see it, you'd go, ah, yep. I'm not going to forget who you are, God, in the midst of what I'm going through now.

On top of that, you know what a beautiful thing is? It's sharing stories. It's sharing stories. It's gathering. And this thing called the body of Christ, it's looking another brother or sister in the eye and being able to share, here's what God's done in my life. And the story that you share may be exactly what they need to hear in that moment to go, man, I'm going through something just like that. It's so good to hear that God was faithful for you. I'm looking forward to sharing my own story.

That's why we do this thing called being in community together. If church for you is what you're experiencing right now, you are missing it. Because you're sitting there listening to some guy just talk to you. That's a small piece, real small. The beauty of church is looking your brothers and sisters in the eye and being able to go, man, here's what I'm super excited about. Let's celebrate and be able to look them in the eye and go, here's what I'm really struggling with. Let's lean into this together.

It's called being a part, something called the body of Christ and why it's so important for us here because it's what God wants you to be in. When you doubt and you don't know and you're uncertain, it's great to say, well, just go to the Lord. And that is biblical and that is true. Sometimes we need encouragement. We need accountability. We need a nudge. We need people around us that will listen to us whine, that will listen to us complain, and then scoop us up and go, OK, now get on the edge of the pool and jump because God's got you.

If we ask in doubt, double -minded, debating, searching Craigslist for what you can sell, you are unstable in all of your ways. And what is the promise there? God's not going to give you the wisdom that you need in that moment. Why? Because God's waiting, waiting for you to figure it out.

You know what the double -minded, you know what the figuring out is on your own, the control? It's you sitting on the edge of the pool trying to figure out, how can I build a boat?

How do I build a bridge across this thing so I never, ever have to swim? How do I do that? God's going, yeah, not going to work. Got to jump. You got to jump. But the second you do, I got you. I got you. And the day is going to come, this will be my last thing,

The day is going to come when God's going to ask you to do something. And he's going to ask you to jump, and you are going to have to swim. He's not going to catch you every time. He'll be there to scoop you up when you can't swim anymore, but he's going to ask you to go.

The only way you get there is because you've learned, and you've swum, and you've done some things in the past.

You've stepped out and done hard things. Little Kinley learned to swim. To all you parents with little kids, teach your kids how to swim, but let somebody else do it, because it's terrifying. Same way that taught me and taught my kids, this method did not change. I'm going to give you the first four days we're going to teach you how to hold your breath. I'm going to blow in your face and get you to . As soon as you can hold your breath, you know what they do? Hold your breath. Chuck them out in the middle. All right. As a parent, you're sitting there like, let me do something.

Nope, this is how they learn. They hold their breath, they go down, and then we pick them up. And tomorrow, we're going to do the same thing, but then they're going to start using their arms and kicking their legs, and now, you know what? You can pitch my kids in the middle of the lake, and they'll swim all the way across it.

Why, because they've learned. Never would have got there if all they did was me catching them every time. God's going to put you in a place where he's going to ask you to swim. And I say all that to say this, because that's where he's got our family right now. And I would love to tell you that I got all the answers to all of this. I'd love to say, ask him that question, what is God up to? Is it still healing and brings balm to the soul? Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes you're in a season, and you're swimming, and you're wondering, are you out there, God?

I saw you when I jumped. You said you would get me. And I'm still swimming. Where are you? What are you up to? I don't have the answers I want. I'm asking all the right questions. I'm doing all the right things. Where are you?

He's there. He's there. So don't stop. Don't stop going. You might need to poke your head up every now and then and scream at him. Where you at, God? What the heck's going on?

You might need to punch some people in the face that want to come up and just quote cute little Bible verses at you. And you go, you know what? That's not helping me right now. Because right now, I'm swimming. I'm doing what he's asking. He doesn't have me. And that, eh. Go read Psalm 13 this week. You, me, and David, we're all in a good spot.

As long as we can have it out with the Lord. You're not answering me. I don't know. I don't get it. I don't know. I'm unhappy with you. As long as we can close the same way that passage in Psalm 13 closes. Yeah, God, I don't see you. I don't know what you're up to. But I will trust in your unfailing love.

Why? Because Christ is my firm foundation. He is the rock on which I stand. Not the answers to why God took people I loved. Not the answer to why I don't get some of my prayers answered the way that I want them. None of that is my foundation. Christ. Is my firm foundation. He is the one on which I stand. And when everything around me is shaking,

I've never been more grateful for my hope, faith, and trust in Jesus Christ. Why? Because 100 years from now, 100 years from this moment right now, you've heard me say this before, the only thing that's going to matter to me is my faith in Jesus Christ. It's not if I could pay this bill for my car. It's not. It's not if all of you offer me your pudding cups and tell me how awesome I am.

It's not that. And none of that, I want it all. That's all great. I want my kids to like me. I want you to love. I want all of those things. But that is not my foundation. It isn't in Christ and Christ alone. And here's the terrifying thing. There are many of us, some of us in here, many of us outside of these walls, that that is not true. So when life hits the fan and they don't know what to do, and they're jumping, they're jumping out to a God they don't know, and they are terrified.

And that is why God has taken brothers and sisters like you and me. He's given us a story. He's given us an understanding of who Jesus is. And he's about to send us out into that world that we would go brag on him, and we would tell other people about what God has done for us as a declaration of who he is. And we would brag on him.

And we would go brag on him. We can do it in here with each other, and we can do it out there. And all of a sudden, God begins to become a little more tangible, a little more real. And a lot of people sitting on the edge of a pool, God's going, I'm here. Just jump. Begin to see him for who he is. Not what the world has made him out to be, but what the word of God says that he is. And then as they begin to jump, he begins to catch. And all of a sudden, eternities are changed. And 100 years from now, we will be worshiping him together

With those by our side. Man, that's what it means. It means to live on mission and to live all of us out. What is God up to? I don't know what God is up to in your life. I know this. He's good. He's good. He's in it. And he's standing there with arms wide open, waiting for you to jump.

How far away he is, a lot of that depends on how committed we are. Don't jump just far enough to where if he doesn't catch you, you can turn around and swim back. That's double minded.

That's one who's jumping with doubt. No, jump. Jump and swim with everything you've got because there's a God out there who's got you and cannot wait to scoop you up. And someday you're going to look back and you're going to go, man, I'm jumping a lot further than I was five years ago. Yeah, because that's how we grow. That's how we get better. If you lack wisdom, look to the Lord. Look past. Look how he's blessed your life. Look about the character of who he is.

But for all of you, like me, in the midst of it, and you go, I don't know. I don't know what God's up to. I'm just swimming. Can that be enough? I think for right now, maybe it can be enough. I think it has to be enough.

Maybe we'll figure it out someday. Maybe we won't. But it doesn't change who God is. And it doesn't change the drive of asking God, what are you trying to teach me in the midst of this? Let me pray for us.

God, I pray for every brother and sister in this place. God, I pray for the couple. I pray for the wife. I pray for the wife I pray for the wife and the mom. I pray for the dear friend. God, all people that I have prayed with just today that are in the midst of a trial, and

They don't know what to do. God, comfort them. God, I pray the same for anybody in this place that is in one of those situations, no matter how big or how small. God, that you would meet them in that moment. God, you would scoop them up. If they need to be told all the beautiful things about who you are, that you would encourage them with those words, God, if they need to be told, just jump. He's got you.

God, they would hear that from you. God, they would hear that from their brothers and sisters in this place, that as we tell stories of you, that it would be an encouragement to others, be a motivation to some, a challenge to others.

But God, in the midst of everything that's going on, God, just catch us and let us give you all the glory for what you're doing.

For those that are swimming and don't know where they're going, make yourself known. Reveal yourself. God, give us the conviction to put our heads down and keep going, because we see you and we know you. So meet us in that place. God, we love you. Thank you for everything that you're up to. Pray now as we respond in song to you. This would just be a declaration of our heart. In Jesus' name, amen.

Let's go do that. Let's go praise God for what he's done. Start here. If service isn't over until you love somebody, start with that. Tell some stories about what God's done in your life, because here's what might be cool. The story you share might just be what the person sitting next to you needs to hear, because God's asking them to jump to

A distance that you've been before. And your story might give them the encouragement to keep moving forward and to keep going. And without doubt, without fear, without hesitation, to leap into the arms of their loving Father. Starts with us telling stories. Tell stories in here. Love each other here. And then get out there this week and brag on God. Go tell people how he's been faithful.

And you heard Sam. You heard Steve, who I will affirm and attest to, who was standing up here earlier and just talk about what a beautiful world it is over in the special needs classrooms and just being around so many of our special needs friends. Why? Because, man, it's positive, it's love, it's joy. Let that be what they see in us as brothers and sisters in Christ, and go brag on God out there. Have a great rest of your week. We'll see you all next week.