James 1:5

If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. (The Message)

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (NIV)

How many times a day do I sit here and wonder exactly what I am doing, what job to do next, what task on my never ending to do list should be done first? How to phrase that email or letter, what to say to a friend or loved one, what to do, how to do it. There are a myriad of things running through my mind at any one time and confusion is generally uppermost. I know I for one need wisdom and guidance on many many things, yet when you are "all growed up" with a family of your own, responsibilities, cares and worries, who do you turn to? Who can help? After all, you are supposed to be able to deal with things yourself, not ask for help every five minutes.

But life isn't like that. It is not always easy and sometimes, making the right choice is difficult. You may have no one to ask, no one to turn to, no one who’s opinion you trust. Then again, you may have everyone and his dog giving you advice, each piece of advice different from the next one. So what do you do? Where do you go? To whom do you turn and who can you trust to give you the right advice, the right answer?

James knew. He wasn't just talking here about intelligence, the ability to solve problems, do maths, understand scientific formulae, remember facts and figures. He was also talking about making the right decisions, the right choices, walking down the right path. After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so making the right decision is crucial.

The Jews to whom James was writing knew that he was talking about the understanding and practical skills needed to live their lives as Christians to the glory of God. It’s the wisdom to be able to put into action the things that need to be done instead of just sitting there working out solutions (or looking for problems). You can have the intelligence to know there is a problem, eg the car won't start, but you need wisdom to work out that you have run out of petrol.

It's more than just having common sense too. It’s the wisdom to know the peace and joy that comes from knowing God and doing His will. We are called by God, chosen, sealed with the Holy Spirit, and we each have an assignment(s) from Him. Sometimes those assignments take us to places we don't want to go, like missionaries in other countries who face imprisonment and persecution, where no one in their right mind would choose to go because of the dangers. Other times we are asked to stay exactly where we are, in that awful job where the boss is a hard task master, always expecting more and more but paying less and less. Maybe it's at school or college, where everyone makes fun of us because we are Christian. Sometimes, we don't even know what we are there for, why we are where we are, what God is calling us to do.

But God knows. God cares. And He has all the answers. We just need to ask Him.

After all, isn't that what Jesus did all the time? Wasn't he always going off by himself to find a quiet place where he could be with his Father, without all the worries and distractions of this life interfering? And is Jesus felt the need to do this, how much more should we in this day and age when we have an expectation that everything should be instantaneous? We have ready meals, microwaves, fast cars, aeroplanes, the internet and computers. With modern technology we can reach any part of the world, any time of the day or night. We can come home and have a meal ready within 5 minutes, we can watch umpteen different channels on television and can get information on just about anything at the touch of a button.

But in the hustle and bustle of this world, when do we find time to spend time with God? To rest on His presence? Read His word? Really get to know God and see His will for our lives? Do we really want to and can we spare the time?

We need the wisdom that can only come from God to discern the truth of this world, to see beyond the lies of the enemy when he tells us we need to work late, to have an extra 5 minutes in bed instead of having a quiet time, to not bother reading our bibles because we can hear all about Jesus on Sunday mornings in church. After all, no one else we know reads their bible and they would only make fun of us if they knew we read ours. And as for praying, well, God never sees fit to answer my prayers so why should I bother?

But God is there by our side at all times. He answers each and every one of our prayers. He sees everything we go through, he hears the words we speak, knows the thoughts we never utter. We just need to ask Him. He won't laugh at us when we ask a stupid question, or state the obvious. He loves us and cares for us, no matter what we perceive our level of intelligence to be. We don't have to have first class honours degrees to turn to God. We don't have to be able to read and write even. We just have to have a heart that is turned towards God, is seeking after him and his ways, wanting to do His will, despite whatever circumstances may surround us.

He won't look down on us or despise us when we ask for help, for guidance, for wisdom, telling us we should know better at our age and we should be able to work it out for ourselves. He is a God of mercy, of justice, of love and faithfulness, full of forgiveness, slow to anger. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure. (Isaiah 33:6,NIV)

Proverbs 3:13-14 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. (NIV)