How to Find Wisdom

Tom Shrader continues his exposition of James 1, focusing on verses 5-12 and the command to ask God for wisdom when facing trials of any kind. He explains that this wisdom is not mere knowledge but the God-given ability to see circumstances from His perspective, and that God gives it generously and without reproach to those who ask in genuine faith. Shrader contrasts true faith—trust in God's character and promises—with a double-minded wavering that expects God to deliver a specific outcome, closing with the encouragement that perseverance through trials leads to the crown of life.

“I can't obligate Him to heal, but I can obligate Him to keep His promise, and His promise is He'll love her, He'll never forsake her, He'll never test her beyond that which she can endure.”

— Tom Shrader

Series: Blue Jean Theology (2011)

Recorded: 2011 at East Valley Bible Church

Duration: 43 min

Themes: wisdom, trials, faith, perseverance, prayer, doubt, suffering, hope, going through hardship, feeling overwhelmed, struggling with doubt, new believer, facing persecution, young adult, feeling spiritually lost, navigating uncertainty

Scripture: James 1:1-12, 2 Corinthians 1, Job 28:12, Proverbs 1:7, 1 Corinthians 14:33, Isaiah 55, Hebrews 11:1, Romans 8:28, Romans 4:20, Hebrews 6:19, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Philippians 3:20, Colossians 3:2, 2 Corinthians 4

Theological Themes: soteriology, sanctification, perseverance of the saints, divine wisdom, double-mindedness, crown of life, epistemic faith, biblical exposition

Full Transcript

Review of James 1:1–4

You have in front of you the book of James. We looked at the first four verses last week, so let me remind you what we said. First of all, and this surprises many of you, James is chronologically the first book written in what we identify as the New Testament. It is dated between 45 and 50 AD. The author identifies himself in the very first word: James. He describes himself as a bond servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. A bond slave had absolutely no possessions. He was utterly and completely dependent upon his master, lived by the grace and provision of his master, and lived to do his master's will and desire.

We also know that this James was the half-brother of Jesus, sharing the same mother, Mary, and the same earthly father, Joseph. He is writing to an audience described in the latter part of verse 1 as the twelve tribes scattered abroad — that is, the nation of Israel dispersed outside of Palestine. They were scattered for probably one of two reasons. One possibility is obedience to the command to go and make disciples of all nations. More likely, however, is that they had experienced horrific persecution as a result of their conversion and had taken flight, landing in different population areas throughout the world.

That situation would have been nothing like simply relocating here, where it is very common when you meet someone to ask, "Where are you from?" We are very mobile. You meet people from Bemidji, from Little Rock, from California, and you move with relative ease. Generally speaking, if you move here from another place, there is no prejudice against you, no language to relearn. But for these scattered believers, the situation was entirely different. There were language barriers, economic barriers, racial barriers, and all sorts of prejudice against them.

Consequently, they were under great persecution. Even when they removed themselves from the immediate source of persecution, they remained under great pressure. The pressure of simply surviving was immense. This makes it all the more striking that James opens by saying, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials."

On its face, that looks like a ludicrous statement. Yet here is what James is saying about those trials. The trials of life are inevitable — you cannot escape them. They are part of the norm of life and part of the normal Christian life. The word "encounter" implies they are unexpected; you cannot predict them. Not only is the timing unpredictable, but they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The Greek word translated "various" literally means multi-colored — many shapes, many sizes.

The Nature and Purpose of Trials

We took time last week to point out that there is the trial of adversity, but there is also the trial of prosperity. The trial itself is neutral — not inherently negative or positive. The trial is also a testing, in the sense of an approving ground. What God is doing in our lives through these trials and through this testing is, first, to reveal whether we have genuine faith at all, and second, if we do have faith, to reveal the quality and depth of that faith.

I have a list somewhere of 37 or 39 reasons for trials and suffering, but I came across a paragraph recently that captures some of the major ones. God sends trials to humble us. He sends trials to wean us from the world. He sends trials to call us to concentrate on eternal things. He sends trials to reveal to us what we really love — we say Jesus is Lord, so let us find out; we say none of this matters, only You matter, so He takes it away and we discover whether that is true.

He sends trials to teach us the value of God's favor and blessing. He sends trials to enable us to help others in their trials — to reach out and share with them, which is the principle of 2 Corinthians 1, to comfort one another with the comfort with which we have been comforted. Consider the issue of abortion. The most powerful connection happens when a woman who has been through that experience, whom God has brought through to the other side, is connected with a woman on the front end of that process. There is an instant bond — "I have been there, and here is what God did for me in the midst of it."

He sends trials to develop in us a greater strength for greater usefulness, so that we become more fit to be in the Potter's hands. He sends trials sometimes to chasten us for our sin and to push us toward perfection. That word "perfection" is exactly what we saw in verse 4: "Let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." What James is talking about is maturity.

John Stott writes, "The great goal of all of life is Christian maturity. Toward this end we bend all our efforts. Life's pleasant paths are made all the sweeter as we keep in mind that they lead to this greater spiritual end. Life's grim moments are to be endured patiently, remembering that patience and persistence turns sorrow into stepping stone." When J.B. Phillips paraphrases James 1:2, he writes, "When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, brothers, don't resist them as intruders, but welcome them as friends."

Welcoming Tests as Friends

Can you welcome these as friends? Verse 3 tells you something: the testing of your faith produces endurance. The way that you endure, the way you face all that life brings at you, is you have this great pleasure of looking back and seeing the faithfulness of God. Not just in the Scripture, though that is powerful. So often the Jews were called to remember — remember the Lord, remember how He parted the Red Sea, remember what He did.

We can say the same to you, especially those of you who have been around for any length of time. Remember how you have seen God work? Remember that circumstance you were in — maybe a circumstance you did not think there was a chance in the world you would get through, but you did. So many of those things you were firing up a prayer chain for, praying about, tense over — so many of them you do not even remember what they were. They were huge to you, God moves, God responds, God delivers you, and you do not remember what they were. It is highly unlikely you ever even took the time to say thank you. But they were gigantic.

That is why you come through some of these things in life and you meet people — almost everybody has one of these stories — where you say, "I didn't want to go through that, I never want to go through it again, but I wouldn't trade it for the world." Why? Because you saw something there. What did you see? You saw who God is, you saw His faithfulness, and you saw who you are.

In some instances, you saw that your faith was not near as big or as strong or as deep as you thought or hoped it was. In other instances, you went, "Oh my word, isn't that amazing? If I had been told that was going to come into my life, I would have never dreamt I could have come out on the other end." But you did. That is not a testimony to you — it is a testimony to God's work in your life.

The Test of Adversity and the Test of Prosperity

I made a list, and I want you to see that both of these are a test. There is the test of adversity, and there is the test of prosperity — that counterbalance. If you go to the doctor and the doctor slides the x-ray across or shows you the scan and says, "Look at this. See this mass right here? This isn't good. This is an active mass" — that is a test. But here is what I would suggest: when he says, "Look, it's clean" — that is a bigger test.

When there is a mass, you walk out saying, "God, You are all I've got. What are You going to do? This is gigantic." Before you even reach the car, and all the way home, and all that night, and all the next day, all you do is pray. I have, by the way, been on both sides of this coin, so I can speak with some level of authority. I have also been in there where they say it is clean. You might say "Thank you, Jesus" on the way to the car, but right after that you are saying, "Well, where should we eat? What's on TV?" Typically human.

So I want to give you just a short list — eight things — to help you see the rhythm here. There is the test of loneliness, but also the test of friendship. The test of sickness, but also the test of health. The challenge of a young, untimely death, and the challenge of a long life, especially a sick one. The challenge of unemployment, but also the challenge of work. The challenge of a marriage that is vibrant and alive, and then the challenge of a divorce. The challenge of being an orphan, and the challenge of having parents. The challenge of a large family, and the challenge of being childless. The challenge of being married, and the challenge of being single.

You get the rhythm there. That is what James is saying: count it all joy when you encounter these unexpected, various testing moments in your life. They come in big shapes and sizes, they come in little things. I personally think that many of us are being tested often, and it is not a matter of pass or fail — we do not even realize there is a test.

Asking God for Wisdom in the Midst of Trials

He says that the testing comes and it produces endurance in your life. Now let us read verses 5 through 8:

*"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must act in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."*

He says if you are someone who lacks wisdom — now look at the context. Verse 5 is not a standalone verse. I have been in many meetings that start like this: "Father, we have decisions to make tonight. We have big decisions, important decisions to make. You tell us that if we lack wisdom, all we have to do is ask and You will give it to us." Obviously that is true, and clearly that prayer is fine. But that is not what he is talking about in context here.

The context is wisdom in the midst of trials. Why are you praying, why are you asking? Because, God, you are in the midst of something, and most often these trials are huge. They have a tendency to overwhelm, especially at the beginning, depending on the size and character of the trial. It is like a punch right in the gut — sometimes it just takes your breath away. Sometimes it causes you to say, "Why me? Why this? Why now?" Those are natural responses.

Even if it is not a "why me," it is a "what should I do? How do I respond? How do I live through this? I cannot figure it out." So he says: ask. Petition. Pray. It is okay to speak honestly.

Asking God for Wisdom in the Midst of Trials

I do this regularly — not daily, but regularly — going to God and saying, "I'm in this situation. I don't want to be in this. I don't like this. Here's what I think You should do. But ultimately, I mean this, God: I'd rather have You do what You know is right than what I want, because this is about You as much as I want to make it about me. So God, You show me. You clarify it. You give me wisdom. You quiet my heart. You give me rest."

This is Paul with his thorn in the flesh. He feels compelled to tell us he had a thorn in the flesh, and he prayed about it three times. My gut tells me he probably prayed or referenced it more than that, but on at least three occasions he asked for it to be removed. God decided to leave it. What is the thorn in the flesh? That's irrelevant to me — I'm grabbing the principle. The principle is he didn't want it, God brought it, and Paul said, "Fine. I'll accept it, because ultimately I know it's for my good and Your glory, however You're going to use this."

God Gives Generously and Without Reproach

Here's the thing that separates God from us, among other things: He gives generously and without reproach. You ask, and He will give to you generously. You lack wisdom, and He will give it to you unconditionally — without reproach. He's not going to remind you how unworthy, how undeserving, what a minuscule little finite creature you are.

That's hard for us to think of giving this way. There's not a parent I know who, at some point, doesn't feel like a human ATM. The kids just come and it's can I have, can I have, can I have — and you can feel yourself spitting out twenty-dollar bills while they walk away. Even if it doesn't bother you in the moment, admit it: when they come back a second and third time, there's something in you that says, "Haven't I already given?"

There was a Saturday Night Live skit where a guy pulls up to an ATM and it greets him: "Hello, good morning, Bob. How are you? Fine. What would you like? Fifty dollars. Here you go, Bob." Then the next day Bob comes back. "Hello, Bob. What would you like? Fifty dollars? Bob, didn't I give you fifty dollars yesterday? What have you done with that fifty dollars since I gave it to you?" That's the idea of reproach — "I've given to you. How have you used it?"

Here's what James is saying: God will never be overdrawn at the wisdom bank. He encourages you to come and make withdrawals all day, every day, because He wants to transfer His wisdom from Himself to you.

Wisdom Is Not the Same as Knowledge

This is not about knowledge, by the way. Knowledge is good, knowledge is important, and knowledge is ever-increasing. If we were to measure everything in the world that we know and say it's a foot high, that foot-high amount of knowledge is doubling — we're adding another foot to it about every five years. So knowledge is the accumulation of facts. Wisdom is not that. Wisdom is knowing what to do with those facts — being able to see God's purpose and God's goal in the midst of your situation.

Where do we find this wisdom? Job 28:12 asks, "Where, oh where, will I find wisdom? Where does insight hide?" The psalmist cries out over and over again, "Let me know Your way." Solomon writes in Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." First Corinthians 14:33 tells us, "For God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace."

So here's your life that's in confusion. What you need is not necessarily a remedy. It's not that you need it fixed before you can get through it. You just need to be able to see it — to see it as God sees it. Isaiah writes in Isaiah 55, "My ways are not your ways, says the Lord. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts."

The Helicopter Illustration

Every year at Christmas, Haley and I go to the Nutcracker. We've done the same thing since she was in about third grade — we go to the Nutcracker and have dinner, then come home. With Sarah, we do something different every year, and this year we took a helicopter ride to look at Christmas lights. We went around town, and we hovered over the area because Sarah lives about a half mile one way and Susan and I live about a mile the other way as the crow — or pigeon — flies.

We went over Sarah's house, and Timmy came out with Reagan, and you could see it really clearly. Then we went over our house. Then we reached a point where we were up high enough that you could see the whole East Valley. As you drive along through the streets, you have one view — but up above it, you get a whole different perspective.

That's what God is saying: "My ways aren't your ways, says the Lord. My ways are higher than your ways." In essence, He wants to get you up so that you can get His perspective on life — so that you're not bogged down in your trials and your testing and your hardship. Not necessarily to remove them, but to lift you up above them, like an out-of-body experience, so that you can see things as He sees them.

Faith as the Qualifier

If anyone lacks wisdom, all he has to do is ask. God will give it generously. He will give it without reproach. He is not going to reprimand you. Now here's a qualifier: he must ask in faith. Hebrews 11:1 — let me read it from one of the translations and a couple of paraphrases. This is probably the best definition of faith we have in the Scripture.

Asking in Faith

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." One paraphrase puts it this way: "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is a firm foundation under which everything in life becomes worth living. It's our candle, our grip, our understanding on what we can't see." Another paraphrase reads: "Now faith is a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope and a conviction of reality of things we do not see."

So when I am to ask, I am to ask in faith. Here is what that faith is not. It is not faith that God is going to do what you want Him to do.

The Prosperity Gospel Problem

I was flipping through channels — college football is over, Saturdays are long, and I miss it. Golf has started, but I ended up on one of the Christian TV stations, and this preacher was talking about prosperity and money. He said, very close to this: "God wants you prosperous. If you already have enough money, I'm not the preacher for you. If you already have plenty of stuff, I'm not the guy for you. God has given me — I can't explain it, I don't understand it — God has given me the ability to get money, to have money, to give money, to just have all sorts of money, and the people I teach have all sorts of money."

I don't even have a file for that. I don't know where to put it. But I can tell you what that is, and it is not in God. God may want you poor. God may want you sick. God may want you suffering. Why would He do that? We looked at it last week and at the beginning of this week — for your good and His glory. He may test you in that area.

Let me be clear — repetitive but clear. I believe prosperity is a testing. I believe we, as a city, a state, a nation, were tested heavily five, six, seven, eight years ago with prosperity, and we did not do very well with it. Why would God take some of that away? Because we were not listening. Because we thought we were spiritual giants.

Everybody does it. We make money, and then we say God is good and He gave it to us, but in our hearts we are saying, "Why wouldn't He? Look at how smart I am. Look at how clever I am. Look at how much smarter than everybody else I am." And by the way, all of that may be true — but even that is a gift from God. So you have no reason to boast. No reason to boast in your riches. No reason to boast in your health.

Faith in Who God Is

When I ask for wisdom and I ask in faith, what is that faith? The faith is in God and in who He is — not necessarily in what He will do. My faith is that He is in control of the situation.

I made a comment in Priority Living this week — and most of you have sat through this enough times that you would yawn at it as a no-brainer — I said, "Everything in our life is either caused by or allowed by God." A man came up afterward and said, "I'm going to challenge you on something. Can you give me the Bible verse that says God causes or allows everything?" I said, "I don't know that I can find a single verse that says exactly that, but take something like Romans 8:28."

"And we know God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." For that to be true — and we know it is true — He has to be all-knowing, He has to be all-powerful, He has to be able to move things around. For Him to work all things together for good, everything in my life either has to be caused by Him or allowed by Him. So my faith is in Him — in His power, in His might, in His majesty. My faith is not that He will ultimately do what I want Him to do, unless what I want Him to do is what will bring Him the most glory.

Shining in the Midst of Suffering

So I have no problem saying this: if you are sick, God may want you there. I am not sure for what reason, but at the very least it may be to test you so you can see whether your faith is real and deep. It may also be so that you become a beacon to the people around you.

"Let your light shine in such a way that people see your good works." They see you respond. They see you in the midst of the most excruciating circumstances, and they look at you and say, "That is amazing. How do you do it?" And you get the privilege of saying, "I really don't know, other than it's God — it's not me. I don't know how He does it, but He does it in me."

Elijah finally rebukes the listeners and says, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him. If it's Baal, follow Him."

Asking Without Doubting

James says in verse 6, ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by wind — over here and then over there. In Romans chapter 4, verse 20, Paul writes of Abraham: "Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God." That is exactly what we are talking about — God's promise to your life.

He will never leave you, He will never forsake you. He will not allow any test, trial, or temptation to come into your life but such as is common to man. He will not allow it to overtake you, but He will give you the power and strength to endure. And the author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews chapter 6, verse 19, that hope is the anchor of our soul.

So we pray. We pray for wisdom.

Praying for Wisdom in the Midst of Trials

I'm not sure, God, I don't know. There is a why, perhaps, to it. There's a why me, why then, why now, why? But even in the midst of that, God, here's what I do know. This is why I don't have to doubt. I'll doubt about my strength, I'll doubt about some of the information around me, I'll doubt about certain things, but here's what I don't doubt. God, I don't doubt Your greatness, Your holiness, Your might, Your power, Your faithfulness, Your love, Your care, Your majesty. I don't doubt Your judgment. I don't doubt Your reproof. I don't doubt that You're God.

Rather than offer an illustration, let me ask you to provide your own at this point. You're in the midst of something. Think about it. Make it a big something. It comes into your life. It's not something you want. It's not something you desire. You put it in that category of test.

And if you're really honest, there's that side of you where you're going, I'm not really sure what's going on here. I'm not sure what to do. How do I discover what God wants me to do in the midst of that? The very first thing James is saying — this is your reflex — the very first thing is to pray for wisdom, because you just got done saying you don't know what to do and you don't know how to respond. The reality of this moment has the potential to overshadow you, overwhelm you. So you start humbly saying, God, I want to see it as You see it. I may never see it that clearly, but until I do, God, I want You to know I'm coming in faith.

Faith in God, Not Faith for a Specific Outcome

I was in a small group with a group of pastors, and there was a man in there whose wife has cancer. There's a cancer kinship there for me. He said, "I'm believing in God to heal my wife." And I said, I don't even know what that means. What are you saying there? Are you saying you're believing that He will heal her, therefore He will — that He is obligated to?

That's a theological issue for me. There are thousands and thousands of sick and dying people in this country and in this world who clearly know that God has the power to heal. Some are believing that He will, and He is not going to. Can you see the fallacy of this? Ultimately, no matter what, we have to acknowledge that if you believe your faith equals your healing, you have all failed — because everybody is going to die. It's funny how we do this. We put it in one circumstance as though getting through that one moment is the final victory.

Unless someone here is named Enoch and is ruining my illustration, you are going to die. God tells us to believe. He tells us that God is a healer, a great healer, a great provider. Could He heal Susan right now? Sure He could. Is He going to? I don't know. He seems to be slow about it, if He is going to. I wish He'd do it fast. But here's what I do know: I can't obligate Him to heal, but I can obligate Him to keep His promise. And His promise is that He'll love her. He'll never forsake her. He'll never test her beyond that which she can endure. He will use this for our good and His glory.

That's how it comes together. Act in faith — but faith for what outcome? Not faith for a specific result. Faith in Him. He is the object of our faith. That's who we trust. We place our faith and trust in Him, in His promises, that He is Jehovah Jireh, the God who will provide. To me, that's what makes sense.

Double-Mindedness and the Depth of Faith

If I don't anchor my faith in Him rather than in an outcome, I become double-minded. You know people like that — in, then out, hot, then cold. You've seen them in your Bible studies. They're there every week with their books, reading everything they can get their hands on, and then all of a sudden they disappear. When you see that, you see a test. You see a trial. What is God doing? He's lifting the veil and letting you see whether there is faith at all. And if there is faith, He's showing you the depth of it, the quality of it, and He's growing it deeper. How does He do it? Through spiritual aerobics — through testing. That's how He does it.

So James addresses this directly. Verse 7 says a man ought not to expect that he will receive anything when he is wavering and doubting. He is double-minded. He is unstable in all his ways.

The Poor and the Rich: A Shared Perspective

James then deals with people circumstantially — one who is poor and one who is rich. He says, "Let the brother of humble circumstance glory in his high position, and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like the flowering grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away."

To me, James is making the point that this is not a circumstantial issue. The man who is poor by the world's standards can still, in the midst of all of this, find glory in his humiliation. Why? Because he is a child of the King. Likewise, the man who looks around and says, "Look at all I have, this is mine" — don't be deceived. James is speaking to the temporariness of riches. That's what he's saying.

Obedience Over Outcome

We talked about this last week. Larry Wright put it this way: I'd rather suffer obediently than prosper disobediently, because I know my obedient suffering is as temporary as my disobedient prospering. When you first hear that, you hear suffering and prosperity. But that's not really the heart of the issue. The key words are obedient and disobedient. I'd rather be obedient, even if it equals suffering, than be disobedient and prosper. Why? Because I understand that both are temporary. That is the point James is making.

The Temporariness of This World

Like the plant that blooms, blossoms, and dies, that is the world we live in. To be able to see the temporariness of this, to understand — and I don't mean it to be a cliché, and my fear is it becomes one for us — is that no matter how bad all this gets, it can only last a lifetime. We are not in the land of the living with a prospect of going to the land of the dying. We are in the land of the dying with a reality of being transitioned, transferred, and transformed into the land of the living. That is a huge difference.

When you see that, you can understand why Marx could say that religion is the opium of the people. What God is saying is: I am going to show you things as they really are. That isn't important. That won't last. This will. This is all fading away.

The Crown of Life

"Blessed," He says, "is the man who perseveres under a trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to all who love Him." On December 26th we looked at 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 6, 7, and 8: "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering. The time for my departure has come. I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I kept the faith, and in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day." This is Paul speaking autobiographically, but then he broadens it and says, not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Paul says it this way in Philippians chapter 3, verse 20: "Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus, who will transform our body from this humble state into conformity with the body of His glory." While we are here, we are sojourners, aliens, foreigners. He calls on us over and over again. Colossians 3:2: "Set your mind on the things above."

Paul, writing in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, says: "Though the outer man is decaying, the inner man is being renewed day by day, for momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." How? "Because we look not at the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen, because the things we see are temporal. The things that are unseen" — those issues of faith — "they're eternal."

A Letter About Parkinson's Disease

The last time I shared something similar to this was April 20th, 2009. I received an email the following Monday that read: "The message you brought us Sunday was a great reminder of the Lord's involvement and care over everything in my life. By God's grace, I've had a chance to live some of the things you taught about. Six years ago, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In the ensuing time, I've learned that His grace is all it's advertised to be."

The writer continued: "He didn't allow me to think, 'Why me?' but instead, 'Why not me?' My biggest problems were taken care of when He drew me to Himself and forgave my sin. This health matter is just an inconvenience, but even more, it's a privilege. It's a mission. He wore a crown of thorns for me. What an honor it is to wear this disease for Him."

"I am trapped in a body over which I am slowly losing control. But there are many who are trapped in circumstances they cannot control — be it a troubled marriage, poor health, family difficulties, money difficulties, oftentimes things of their own making. The Lord has given me many chances through this to tell them that there is a God who cares, and each day He gives strength to match the difficulty, and life is good. I can say, as one who has been trapped like them, that I live where they live."

"Humanly speaking, I have a certainty of an unhappy ending. But in Him we exalt in our tribulations. He talks about the abundant life. He talks about the possibility of even being healed. I would welcome the chance to have a normal life, but as strange as it sounds, if I do get well, I would miss having the disease. It gave me common ground to share the gospel with those who have no hope."

"Through the Lord, He has demonstrated His faithfulness to me every day. I would miss having the gift of Parkinson's, but if health does return, you will never hear me say, 'I have my life back.' Abundant life never left me. I have had a life in the truest and greatest sense of the word this whole time, because I have always had Him. I am just an ordinary guy under the care of an extraordinary God. The Lord is true to His word. I want to draw attention to Him. It is God who sustains me. It is His truth that I can live in, healthy or diseased."

How We Respond to Trials

That is what the trials are all about. They come, and now we see how we are going to respond to them. We have a choice in how we respond. The first thing He says is: ask Me for wisdom. Ask Me for insight. I will give it to you. The trials are coming so that we can endure them, so that they can reveal who He really is, who we really are, and whether our faith is real at all — or reveal the depth of our faith.

It may be a trial of success. It may be a trial of failure. It may be a trial of adversity. It may be a trial of prosperity. We ask Him for wisdom: Father, show me how to respond, because I don't even know. God, help me see the temporariness of this. There was an article in the newspaper a few weeks ago, an interview with Tex Earnhardt. He was talking about being in business for fifty years and about the disputes that inevitably arise. When asked how he handles them, he said he advises people on the five-year rule: five years from now, is this going to make any difference?

That is exactly what we need to grasp. Some of this looks so big, so important, so necessary, so urgent — and in reality, it doesn't really matter all that much.