James 1:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

NIV: That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

NASB: For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

CSB: That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord,

NLT: Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

KJV: For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

NKJV: For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

This verse is part of a profound idea explained in verses 5 through 8. James has written that God stands ready and willing to give away wisdom—for free and without finding fault—to all who ask Him for it. But they must ask believing that God is trustworthy to give wisdom. They must be ready to act on the wisdom He gives.

However, those who see God's way as only one of many options will spend their lives being driven back and forth by whatever wind blows strongest. A person who comes to God, asking for wisdom, but without faith—continuing to shop around for sources of wisdom contrary to God—will be like a wave tossed around by the wind. Looking for other ways to receive God's wisdom, such as other Christian advisors, is not the same thing as looking for options separate from God's will.

Here, in verse 7, James makes it clear that the faithless person shouldn't expect to receive any wisdom from God. God cares deeply that His children, believers in Jesus, will trust Him exclusively. He has no interest in being one booth we visit in the marketplace of theological ideas. He wants to be our first and final stop.

If we don't trust Him exclusively, we will receive no wisdom from Him, at all.

James 1:2–18 begins with a challenging command for Christians. We are to classify hard things in their lives as ''joyful,'' because those ordeals help us develop a deeper trust in God. Christians who trust God also seek wisdom from Him—and not from ungodly sources. We continue to trust Him through difficult experiences, in part, to receive the crown of life promised to those who don't stop. We don't blame Him for our desire to sin, but we do credit Him for every good thing in our lives.

How important is it for Christians to trust God? It's so important, James writes, that we should call our worst moments joyful things, because trials help us trust God more. People who trust God ask Him for wisdom—and then take what He gives. People who trust God make a bigger deal about their rewards in the next life than their wealth in this one. People who trust God don't blame Him for their desire to sin; they give Him credit for all that is good in their lives. They look into His Word, and they act on what they see there.

This first chapter in the book of James sets the course for the rest of his letter to Christians worldwide. God wants us to trust Him more, and more deeply, as we learn more of Him. This is so important to God that He calls on us to find joy, even in hard times, because hardship helps us trust God more. Those who really trust God will ask Him for wisdom, will be excited about their status in eternity, will recognize Him as the source of all good in their lives, and will work to act on what they find in His Word.

The book of James is about specifically understanding what saving faith looks like. How does faith in Christ reveal itself in a believer's life? What choices does real trust in God lead us to make? Those are the questions James answers. Most scholars believe the writer was Jesus' half-brother, a son born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus' birth. James may not have come to believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection. Eventually, though, he became one of the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem. This is possibly the earliest-written of all the New Testament books, around AD 40–50. James addresses his letter to Jewish Christians scattered around the known world.