James 1: When You Don't Know What to Do, Ask God

Introduction

"It's pretty easy to live the Christian life on a Sunday morning." Matt Destry, a guest speaker at Gateway Baptist Church in Australia on Grandparents' Day, starts from that observation. On Sunday there is worship, encouragement, prayer, and leaders to guide you. But faith hits the road on Monday, when you walk into a week that can be hostile, tense, high-pressure, or unstable.

To illustrate his point, he tells about the season when, having arrived in the state of Victoria in 2013, he became a landscaper. Having never worked outdoors, he bought his first pair of steel-toe work boots. Hence the title of his message: faith in work boots. "When you put on your work boots on Monday morning and show up on the job site, that's where following Jesus really makes a difference."

As part of the church's series on wisdom, he opens James 1:1-18. This book is often called the Proverbs of the New Testament: it teaches us how to live wisely in the real world.

Message Outline

1. James, the Brother Who Introduces Himself as a Servant

We all know someone who works the celebrities they know into every conversation: "That's exactly what my famous friend was telling me last weekend over coffee."
James is the brother of Jesus. Yet he doesn't open his letter by bragging about what his brother told him at home or on vacation. He writes: "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1).
If you have brothers and sisters, you know it isn't easy to kneel at one of their feet and say, "Let me serve you, take the best seat in the car." James comes with humility and a servant's heart.
Throughout his letter, he echoes the words of Jesus. Jesus says, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted" (Matthew 5:10), and James writes, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation" (James 1:12). Jesus says, "By their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:16), and James writes, "I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18). Both say: let your yes be yes and your no be no.
According to the preacher, no other book of the New Testament echoes the words of Jesus as often. And James begins with a church under pressure, not a party with confetti.

2. Pressure Has a Purpose

"The pressure you feel has a purpose." Trials aren't there only to test you; they are there to shape and form you.
First, pressure reveals. To find out whether a container has leaks or cracks, you put it under pressure. Pressure shows what is inside.
In comfort, you learn a thing or two, like what temperature you prefer for the air conditioning. In trials, when you cling to God and say, "God, I need you now," you learn far more about him.
Notice what James doesn't say. He doesn't say, "Love your trials." He doesn't say to pretend that suffering doesn't hurt, or that everything that happens is good. He says to count trials as a reason for joy because you know they produce something.
"Joy isn't found in the pain itself. Joy comes from knowing what God can produce through it."

3. Don't Wait for the Perfect Day to Follow Jesus

"Let endurance have its perfect work" (James 1:4). We tend to think: once this difficulty is behind me, I'll get back to what God called me to do.
Once the kids are settled at school and the routine is in place, I'll really give myself to Jesus. Once I've sorted out my health issues, I'll get started.
James says the opposite: you can give yourself to the Lord now, in the middle of what you're going through. He will use what you're living to shape you into the image of his Son.
"You don't need everything to be perfect to follow him." If you wait for the perfect day, it will never come.

4. Ask for Wisdom, Not an Explanation

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5).
Every day, you face decisions: family, relationships, work, career, finances, calling, direction. We don't just need knowledge; we need wisdom, which is knowledge put into action.
What isn't promised here is an explanation. It would be nice to have a direct line to heaven to find out the why of everything. But God doesn't always tell us why; he gives us the wisdom to move forward.
"An explanation tells me why it happened. Wisdom teaches me to live faithfully in the middle of what happened."
We sometimes imagine that God eventually gets annoyed with our requests: "You again, Jenny? You've asked me too many questions, I have other people to give wisdom to." That is not what God does. He gives generously, without reproach, at every step of the way.
The preacher smiles: the day one of his kids comes to ask him for wisdom, that will be the wake-up call, his parenting job will be done. God, on the other hand, is waiting for our requests.
James asks us to pray with faith, without doubting. The one who doubts is a "double-minded" man: the Greek word evokes a person with a divided soul, who acts one way and speaks another. God's design is for us to be unified people, in whom what we say and what we do are one.

5. When Everything Moves, Fix Your Heart on What Doesn't Move

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow" (James 1:17).
The preacher reads from an ancient Jewish writing in which Bildad asks Job whether his heart is troubled. Job answers that his heart is not fixed on the things of the earth, because the earth and its inhabitants are unstable, but on the things of heaven, because "there is no upheaval in heaven." Bildad replies: "As for heaven, we hear that it stays calm."
"Your life is crazy, my life is crazy, the world is unstable and constantly changing, but fix your heart on what doesn't change."
God our Father doesn't move like shadows. He doesn't change like the sun and the moon. He is steady, he is for you, he is faithful, and he will fulfill the promises he has made to you.
"Shadows move, the Father doesn't."

6. Don't Judge God's Character by Your Circumstances

We can mistake our trials for a flaw in God's character: "I had a hard week, then a hard weekend. Maybe God isn't that good after all."
When life gets hard, there are two temptations. The first: to start behaving badly. If life is hard on me, I'll be hard on life, like a spoiled child who doesn't get what he wants.
The second is worse: to start believing something different about God. Maybe he has forgotten me, maybe he is punishing me, maybe he doesn't care about me.
James answers: "Do not be deceived" (James 1:16). "Don't read God's character through the worst thing that has happened to you." Every perfect gift comes from him.
Your circumstances can change, your emotions too, and even your confidence rises and falls. But the Father doesn't change. You can count on him.

7. Let Them See the Roots, Not Just the Fruit

On this Grandparents' Day, the preacher salutes those who have followed Jesus for a long time and whose faith has been tested through the seasons. The day before, he was with nearly a hundred couples, many of whom had been married longer than he and his wife have been alive.
As a child, he watched his father, a police officer, come home in uniform and set his big radio at the end of the table: to him, he was Superman. His mother had an answer to every problem. Then, around nine, ten, or eleven years old, he realized: "They were making it up as they went. All that time, they were just as scared as I was."
Often, parents, grandparents, and leaders keep the struggle to themselves, then tell the end of the story once God has answered. Matt Destry invites us to do it differently: "Don't let them see only the fruit. Let them see the roots."
Let them see the prayers that are still unanswered: "Kids, we don't know how this will end, but here is how we are praying and the wisdom we are asking the Lord for." Keeping it age-appropriate, of course.
When you get it wrong, don't hide it: let them see you ask for forgiveness. When you've been hurt, let them see you struggle toward forgiveness. When something doesn't work out, let them see you disappointed without falling into despair. When you're waiting for an answer, let them see you wait. When God provides, tell them.
They will build a faith that can get through trials and persevere by watching your faith get through trials and persevere.
The message ends on Monday: whether it's the family meal right after the service or work the next morning, it's about lacing up your work boots and letting faith get to work.

Key Takeaways

The pressure you are going through has a purpose: it reveals what is in you, and God uses it to shape you.
You don't need to wait until everything is in order to follow Jesus: he shapes you in the middle of what you're living.
God doesn't always promise an explanation, but he gives wisdom, generously and without reproach.
Circumstances change, but the Father of lights doesn't. Don't judge his character by your worst week.
To pass on a faith that lasts, let the younger ones see the roots of your faith, not just its fruit.

Personal Application

What pressure are you going through right now, and what might it reveal in you?
What are you putting off until "things get better" in your walk with Jesus?
For what decision do you need to ask God for wisdom this week, rather than an explanation?
Is there a trial that has changed the way you see God's character?
With which child, grandchild, or loved one can you share a prayer that is still unanswered, and how you are carrying it?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does James 1:5 promise to someone who lacks wisdom?

James promises that God gives wisdom to all, generously and without reproach. Matt Destry stresses what is not promised: an explanation. God doesn't always say why things happen, but he gives wisdom to live faithfully in the middle of what has happened. And he never grows tired of our requests.

Why does James say to count trials as a reason for joy?

James doesn't say to love trials or to pretend that suffering doesn't hurt. Joy isn't found in the pain itself: it comes from knowing what God can produce through it. Pressure reveals what is in us, and God uses it to shape us into the image of Jesus.

How can you pass on a faith that holds up in trials?

Matt Destry invites parents, grandparents, and leaders to let others see the roots, not just the fruit: the prayers still unanswered, the apologies when we get it wrong, the road toward forgiveness, the waiting. The younger ones will build a faith that perseveres by watching a faith that perseveres.