James 1:6 Blown by the Wind
“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” (NIV).
Obviously, the wave above is being blown by the wind. The whole wave is moving toward the shore, but the top of it is being blown back out to sea. The individual water drops are not making headway toward the land, the direction the wave is moving.
This verse speaks a hard truth,:“But when you ask, you must believe.” And then the part about doubt comes in. I don’t want to be blown by the wind. I want to move toward a solution to my problem, but my doubt keeps moving me away from my desired outcome. I don’t mean that I don’t get my prayers answered, but I’m sure they would be answered much sooner if I could just get rid of doubt. I am amazed at people who say, “I never doubted that God would answer my prayer and solve my problem.” WOW! It’s not often that I can say, “I never doubted.” I’m like the man who asked Jesus to heal his son who was possessed by a spirit who caused him to have seizures. He said, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Mark 9:22b (NIV) Jesus’ answer to the father was, “If you can? Everything is possible for one who believes.” And the man answered, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” Mark 9:23-24 (NIV) I believe that this was included in the Holy Scriptures to give hope to those of us who fight doubt. When we pray and ask for an answer, we can also ask for more belief. God loves us, and His desire is to answer our prayers—help us with our challenges, including the challenge of having strong faith.
I think my least favorite word in the Bible is the word, “just,” as in, “Just believe.” Sometimes that is hard. We know we don’t deserve the answer we are asking for, and we are afraid that our faith is not strong enough to get the job done. That’s the time I throw myself on the mercy of God and ask Him to give me the faith to get it done. I lean on His grace and His love.
Do I have doubts? Do I wonder if I have enough faith? The answer to both questions is “yes,” but I know that I have a God who loves me and wants to help me grow in Him, increase my faith and trust Him completely. He helps me grow when I speak with Him, when I read His Word, and when I listen to saints who have a close walk with Jesus. So I can say in confidence, “I believe. Help thou my unbelief.”