Persevere in mind, find wisdom, gain strength for the journey.

Have you ever had someone come to you and say, “Don’t give up.” And then they leave it at that. It may seem like that’s not enough to encourage us. But, I think, it’s really that simple a lot of the time. In all honesty, if you come about every challenge, obstacle, and even triumph in life with an attitude of perseverance, there’s honestly not much you can’t do. And that perseverance is essential to gaining wisdom.

A passage of Scripture that’s been helpful for me recently to that end is James 1:5-8. Before verse 5 it talks about perseverance, and that being the key to maturity of faith. Picking up the passage at verse 5, it reads..

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.

This passage is incredible. Read it again if you’d like to. Let it sink in.

It’s amazing that we can ask God for wisdom, and He gives it to us without finding fault. However, something that I used to fail to realize as well was that we should not expect to receive anything from God if we ask in doubt and unbelief. That’s crazy to me, in the best way. If I ask God for wisdom, but I do it with a cold, hardened, unstable heart, then why would He entrust that new wisdom to me?

I want to come before God, asking Him for wisdom (among other things, anything really), with a posture of belief. If I’m doubting, as the Scripture illustrates, it also sounds tortuous. It doesn’t sound peaceful in the slightest. And so, I want to combat doubt. Which begs the question: how do I gain faith? I find a lot of different things to be helpful towards that end.

Gratitude. My Opa always used to say: have an “attitude of gratitude.” It really is an attitude, a mindset, a frame of being and living and thinking. Gratitude fuels faith.

The Holy Spirit Himself. God’s Spirit illumines my heart. He gifts me with faith. Hallelujah, that it’s not all on me. What a freeing and refreshing thought!

Gaining knowledge and truth. Honestly, we have to feed our minds good things. We need to give our minds spiritual sustenance, truth, Scripture, holy connections. When we gain knowledge and truth for the sake of faith, how encouraging that is! The journey to my heart is pretty intricately connected to my mind. When my mind is filled with truth, it becomes easier to believe in my heart.

And so, gaining wisdom is a matter of the heart. It’s a matter of faith and belief. It’s a matter of acknowledging that God won’t entrust new wisdom and revelations to us if we’re not in a place to receive it by faith. He’s too kind and loving to give us wisdom that we’ll squander. Like the passage says above in verses 7 and 8: We should not expect to receive anything from the Lord if we come to Him asking for wisdom from a place of doubt and disbelief. “Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” Man, I love James lol.

Grow in wisdom by gaining faith. Grow in wisdom by combatting doubt, instability in mind, and a double-mindedness. Let your yes be yes, let your no be no. Commit, combat doubt, and stand firm. Gaining wisdom is a beautiful endeavor, and it’s so rewarding to receive - because it means when we do, we’re believing and not doubting. What an encouragement to my faith!

Be encouraged today, friends. Persevere. Don’t give up. Gain wisdom. Grow in faith. The reward is well worth the journey. Eyes up!