The Scriptures are clear that God alone possesses perfect wisdom: In Daniel 2:20 we read, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.”
Therefore, it follows that God alone always knows what’s best at all times, in all things, for everyone.
The amazing thing is is that God has not left us without recourse whenever we need wisdom for some perplexing situation we’re facing. Listen to this from the apostle James in 1:5-8 (NIV)
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. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
Notice that God freely helps anyone know how to act upon asking him. The only condition for receiving has to do with believing and not doubting. What does that mean? Look at it this way: to ask for wisdom and then believe is to commit yourself in advance to do whatever God says to do.
To doubt, on the other hand, is to hold back a little bit as if to say to the Lord, “please give me wisdom for this decision and I’ll consider it.”
Do you see what’s going on there? That person has part of his mind set on hearing what God has to say, and part of his mind still reserving the right to do something else. So, the apostle James calls him out by highlighting the obvious: he his double-minded. And he says that person is unstable because you never know whether he’ll do what God wants or what he wants. He is “like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”
So the apostle’s counsel is clear: next time you need wisdom from God, know that he will freely share his wisdom with you, but then prepare your heart to receive it: that is, pre-commit yourself to do whatever God tells you and you will most certainly be given the wisdom you need.
