Today I want to share with you from Rick Renner's devotional on hearing from God. It is a little long, but it addresses a mind set that many people have that God sometimes willfully holds out on us when we desire to know the Truth!
God’s Five Guarantees!
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.— James 1:5
Have you ever asked someone a question that you knew he or she could
answer, but instead of being helpful with a clear response, that person skirted
the issue and answered indirectly? In these situations, it may have appeared
that the person was hiding his knowledge to retain a sense of control by
keeping you in the dark. What an unpleasant experience, especially when you
know that the person could just simply answer you!
This is the way many people wrongly perceive God. They know that He has
the answers to their questions, but often they don’t believe He will actually
answer them. In their minds, He dangles the answer before them and then jerks
it back out of reach just as they attempt to take hold of it. They think this
is the way God keeps people on their knees in a humbled position of
supplication. But in fact, James 1:5 gives us five guarantees that God
does not act like this at all!
As we saw yesterday, God isn’t offended or upset when you ask Him for
clarification on the issues you’re facing in life. In fact, He encourages you
to come alongside Him and ask for the answers you lack. If you meet this
requirement of drawing near to Him, pulling right up alongside His heart, James
1:5 says that God will answer you liberally. He’ll play no games with you once
you meet this one condition when you ask.
James wrote that God “…giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not;
and it shall be given him.” In this verse, we find five guarantees that
God makes to those who seek answers to their questions.
We are guaranteed that God “giveth.”
We are guaranteed that God gives “to all men.”
We are guaranteed that God gives “liberally.”
We are guaranteed that God “upbraideth not.”
We are guaranteed that answers “shall be given” to the one
asking.
Let’s look at each one of these five guarantees.
James 1:5 guarantees that when we ask for wisdom and we meet God’s
condition of drawing close to Him, God will “give” us the answers we are
falling short of. The Greek word used for “giveth” is didontos, a form
of didomi, which means I give. But in this Greek case, the grammar
does not describe the random, occasional act of God, but rather the regular
behavior of God. In fact, the entire Greek phrase is tou didontos
theou and is literally translated the giving God. Hence, God is
not one who holds out on us when we need wisdom or information. He is, in fact,
the giving God — one who is reputed for habitually giving answers to those who
meet His conditions.
James 1:5 guarantees that God gives “to all men.” This removes the
uncertainty that God may answer some and not If God’s condition has been met —
that is, if we have drawn near to His heart and come closely alongside Him — He
will answer us, because each of us fits into that phrase “all men”!
James 1:5 guarantees that God gives to all men “liberally.” This is the
Greek word haplos. It denotes something that is bountiful. It
actually portrays one who gives copiously, amply, extravagantly, generously, lavishly, liberally, plentifully,
or richly. This is a person who has an open hand, as opposed to one
who keeps a closed fist. Hence, God doesn’t dangle the bait before us and then
quickly jerk it out of our reach. If we have met His conditions and pulled up
alongside His heart, He reaches down with an open hand to give the answer we
seek — and He gives us the answer bountifully.
James 1:5 guarantees that God “upbraideth not.” This is a translation
of the Greek phrase me oneididzontos. The word me is emphatic
for not, while the word oneidodzontos is a form of the
word oneinidzo, which means to berate, to censure, to
correct, to rebuke, or to scorn. In other words, God is not going
to get upset with you if you ask Him for answers. He will never berate,
censure, correct, rebuke, or scorn you when you come alongside Him to receive
wisdom.
James 1:5 guarantees that answers “shall be given” to the one who is
seeking them and who has fulfilled God’s conditions. The Greek tense used for
“shall be given” makes this verse a pr Even if you don’t know the answer right
now, the answer that you seek will be given to you!
James 1:5 conveys this idea in the Greek:
So now you can rest assured that GOD is always speaking to reveal Himself and His Word to you! If you feel that He is not, then you have simply found a place where YOU are getting 'bad reception' and you need to make whatever moves are needful in your own person life to get you to where you can hear HIM, easily and completely! CHOICES. Make your WISE! Here is Hillsong with "So Will I":
Shalom in Him!
