5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 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. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
I'm not quite getting my mind around this passage. In verse 5, God is gracious and not finding fault, yet He turns around and gives the back of the hand to someone who has some lingering doubts.
What if your lack of wisdom flows from a lack of faith? The foolish thinks God doesn't exist, but the fool doubts and has no outlet to get that foolishness given this construct. The wise person believes in God, thus doesn't need the help.
There are times where I feel like the fool at the end of this passage, not getting much tangible from the Lord and emotionally shaky; taking that passage at face value seems to be depressing when doubt in God's willingness to deliver is chronic.
There is a way through that catch-22, but it doesn't seem to be evident in this passage. Everything is possible through Christ, who will dispatch the Holy Spirit to help lean us into faith.
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