5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

James 1:5

εἰ δέ τις ὑμῶν λείπεται σοφίας – “But if any of you [continually] lacks wisdom [for himself]” – Pay particular attention to the continuous aspect of the verb “lack” (λείπεται). Trials teach us things—specifically, they teach us things which we do not already know. In other words, if we continually lack some point of wisdom in our lives, God may prescribe a particular trial in order to teach us that point.

For example, one lacking an attitude of dependence upon God, may remain largely unaware of such a deficiency until God brings upon him a trial which clearly shows him that he cannot depend upon himself. At that point he will conclude that he must depend upon God, and he will pray to God to grant him that attitude.

If a trial is brought upon us by God for a purpose—that is, to teach us—surely our faithful prayers to Him to fulfill that purpose shall be faithfully answered by Him. Note the manner in which God gives: “generously and without reproach.” Nobody can point to the manner in which God gives and in it find fault. This is often called into question by those who do not fear God, but their complaints are based on their ignorance regarding the character of God. Those who fear God have no reason at all to doubt that He will grant those things which are asked according to His will.

What wisdom do you lack? Or, rather, what wisdom are you lacking? We do not have to wait for a trial to ask God to teach us. Humble yourself before God and recognize Him as the giver of all wisdom, and you will find Him faithful.

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

One should note that a trial is a trial, regardless of a person’s attitude towards it (or towards God, who sovereignly willed it). The imperative here, ἡγέομαι, means “consider.” However, the word “count” is appropriate because there is a sense in which we keep an account of our circumstances, the same way in which a business tracks its expenses, revenues, assets, and liabilities. Two businesses with identical assets, conducting the same amount of business, and having the same overhead expenses can end up making drastically different decisions based on the way they do their accounting. In other words, your circumstance is, to some degree, what you make of it.

The world encourages one another to think positively, but they do so in vain; for they have no true reason to be optimistic—no hope in which to boast—if they do not have Christ. We have that hope. We are called to serve our Lord, and trials prepare us for that service in a way that nothing else can. For this reason, we can look at a trial as a divine training course, and rest on God’s word that he has equipped us to overcome it. Not only this, but verse 4 promises that we will emerge from the trial even more aptly equipped than when we went in!

So as we keep account of our circumstances, let us remember that it is ours to decide whether our trials are assets or liabilities.