Big Buts of the Bible

“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. 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.”
—James 1:5–6

James has been on my mind.

Maybe it’s all the buts.

There are six of them in the first chapter alone, which naturally makes James a person of considerable interest around here. But there’s another reason this little New Testament letter deserves our attention.

James writes to people who have been scattered.

That’s the word he uses. They are away from familiar places, living through disruption and “trials of many kinds.” We aren’t told precisely what every reader was experiencing, but James doesn’t begin with people whose lives are neat, predictable and comfortable.

He writes to people whose footing has been disturbed. And before he’s even ten verses into his letter, James gives us a picture for exactly what that can feel like.

Still Feeling the Waves

I loved going to the beach as a kid. I could stay in the water playing in the waves until my skin shriveled and my parents finally decided they had spent quite enough of their day watching me get knocked around by the ocean.

Maybe you’ve experienced what sometimes happened afterward.

You come out of the water and plant your feet on dry ground, but for a while it doesn’t quite feel dry—or particularly stable. Your body can still seem to sway. You almost feel the motion of the waves even though the waves aren’t touching you anymore.

There’s actually a reason for that. Our brains and bodies become accustomed to repeated movement and begin anticipating it. We’ve been adjusting ourselves to remain upright in an unstable environment, and sometimes that sensation lingers after we step onto something solid. (A side note: The same sensation can happen in your pocket, feeling a ‘phantom’ cell phone vibration when it’s not actually ringing—it’s called ‘ringxiety.’)

I think life can do that to us too.

Live with uncertainty long enough and you begin expecting the next wave.

One difficult phone call makes you brace for another. One loss follows another. A relationship becomes unpredictable. Recovery has setbacks. Money gets tight. Your health changes. Someone you love is hurting and you can’t make it better.

Eventually, even when there is solid ground beneath us, we may have trouble feeling it. We’re still bracing for the next wave.

When You Don’t Know What to Do

James begins his letter with an extraordinary challenge: “Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

That’s a difficult sentence.

James isn’t telling hurting people to pretend their pain doesn’t hurt. Nor does he say that everything happening to them is good. He tells them that the testing of their faith can produce perseverance—that something can be formed in them even while they are living through something they never would have chosen.

But what do you do when you’re standing in the middle of it and can’t see that bigger picture?

James answers: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God.”

I appreciate the honesty built into that invitation. Sometimes we don’t know.

We don’t know what decision to make. We don’t know what God is doing. We don’t know whether to stay or leave, speak or remain quiet, wait or move. Sometimes we’re simply trying to make it through today without being knocked over again.

James doesn’t shame us for lacking wisdom. He tells us where to take the lack.

Ask God.

And then comes a beautiful description of the God we’re asking: He “gives generously to all without finding fault.”

Don’t hurry past that. When you’re confused, God isn’t irritated that you don’t know what to do. When you’re struggling, He isn’t standing at a distance wondering why you haven’t figured things out yet.

He gives generously. And He does so without finding fault.

That’s grace hidden in plain sight.

But When You Ask

Then comes our big but. “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt…”

That verse can become another burden if we’re not careful. A struggling person can hear it as, Apparently, I need perfect, doubt-free faith before God will help me.

But read James’s picture. He’s talking about being “like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

The issue isn’t whether a frightened or hurting person ever has questions. Scripture is filled with faithful people asking God questions. The Psalms alone should settle that.

James is pointing us toward where we place our confidence when everything else is moving.

The waves move. Circumstances move. Feelings move. Other people’s opinions move. Our own understanding can change from morning to evening. But God does not.

And when James tells us to ask God for wisdom, he invites us to put our weight there.

Solid Ground

When life becomes unstable, we naturally scratch and claw for something that will steady us. We try to predict what’s coming next. We run possibilities through our minds. We imagine conversations that haven’t happened and outcomes that may never happen. We look for something—anything—that will make us feel secure again.

Sometimes those instincts are useful. Sometimes they exhaust us. James offers another place to stand.

Ask God for wisdom. Trust His character. Remember that He gives generously. Let Him widen your line of sight beyond the wave immediately in front of you.

That doesn’t mean the waves instantly stop. It means the waves aren’t all there is.

Perhaps you’ve been knocked around for so long that you’re still swaying even when you’ve reached the shore. Maybe some part of you is constantly braced for what might happen next. James doesn’t tell you to get yourself together. He points beneath your feet.

There is solid ground here.

The God who meets us in our confusion isn’t finding fault with us for needing help. He isn’t stingy with wisdom. He isn’t being tossed around by the same storm that’s tossing us.

Ask. Listen. Trust. And when everything around you feels as though it’s moving, remind yourself of what isn’t.The waves may still be moving.But you’re learning where to put your feet.