This is a bit long, so grab a cup of hot chocolate, or your favorite drink, and let’s dive into this. With all the uncertainty going on in the world today, it’s pretty easy to lose your confidence. And of course, when that happens, people are easily misled because when the anchor of your life is not firmly planted, you’re subject to drift away from where you need to be, resulting in shipwreck of your life. And the absolute worst place to be is on a stormy sea, adrift without an anchor. Some people just “go with the flow”, which means “no anchor”, which means, “que sera, sera”, whatever will be, will be. But that isn’t the plan for God’s people, and here’s why:


GOD’S people are not adrift on the open sea, however, everyone else IS. God has a plan and a direction for each of our lives, and nothing is left to “chance”. If we find ourselves “adrift”, it’s because we have no confidence in God’s Word. Now, that can be for a number of reasons; you can’t have confidence in God’s Word if you don’t KNOW what He said. There are many unlearned in the Word, and not everyone is a student of the Bible. You can’t have confidence in His Word if you don’t believe it, or that it doesn’t apply to YOU. And you can’t have confidence in His Word if someone has taught you incorrectly, and you tried to use it when the heat was on, and it didn’t work for you. And the result? You just don’t use the Word anymore. I’ve met many that fall in that last category.
I’d like to use a passage in James 1:2-8,
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
5 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.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

You’ll notice in verse 3, it talks about “the trying of your faith”. That’s what we call “trials” or “testing”. Whenever someone invents something, they test it to see if it will deliver what it’s designed to do. If it does, then good. If not, well, it’s back to the drawing board. “Trials” or “tests” are to try us to see what we’re made of, whether we can hold up under the pressure we are subjected to. Depending upon what is in us will determine how well we will hold up under severity. If we are trying to do it on our own, we may do it, and then again, we may not. But if God’s Word is in us, and we have all confidence in it, then we will come through that test stronger than when we went in.

I especially like verse 5, “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.” Please note that it says “If ANY of you….”. God is not offering wisdom to a select few, but to ANYONE who lacks it. Boy Howdy, I need His wisdom, because on my own, I don’t have much. How do we get it? “Let him ASK of God”. That’s simple enough. And He gives to ALL liberally, meaning freely, and He doesn’t scold us for asking. God WANTS us to be wise, and He will FREELY GIVE us wisdom for the asking! So I’m asking! How about YOU?

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.” In faith, confident that God will deliver on what GOD promised. Notice I said “what GOD promised”. You see, there’s a lot being taught that God didn’t promise, man’s religion or theology SAID He did, but He didn’t. AND, there’s a lot that God DID promise, that we aren’t being taught, again, because of man’s religion or theology, and therefore, we end up WITHOUT Godly wisdom, and without the benefit of that goes along with that wisdom. Either way, we lose. Not good. Remember me talking about a ship adrift on a stormy sea without an anchor? This is us without the wisdom of God. The devil sinks a lot of folks because of their lack of wisdom. Have YOU been tossed around a lot lately? What are you doing about it?

Are you bawling and squalling, and complaining to your friends, or are you getting into God’s Word and saying, LORD, where am I missing this? I need Your wisdom here, what do You want me to do about this? And then be quiet and listen to God giving you wisdom. He promised to give His wisdom to those who ask. But if you’re not asking, you’re not receiving, and if you’re not receiving, then you’re at the devil’s mercy, and let me tell you, he has NO mercy! He is an “equal opportunity destroyer”, meaning, he’d just as soon destroy you as he would me. If you’re there, and if you give him opportunity, LOOK OUT! But if you’re seeking God’s wisdom, He will guide you AROUND most of the trials the devil has planned for you. And the ones God doesn’t take you AROUND, He will take you THROUGH, as in, “Get out of my way devil! Either I go around you, or I will go through you, or I will go over you, but you will NOT stop God’s plan for my life!”

Many times we moan and groan and wonder why God “isn’t delivering us”, when all along, He is planning a GLORIOUS VICTORY for us. Review, if you will, the story about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that is in Daniel chapter 3. I used this chapter recently, but I’m led to do it again, because SOMEONE OUT THERE DIDN’T GET IT THE FIRST TIME!

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:
11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. note
20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.

Do you know WHY all this disaster worked out so well for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Because they had UNSHAKABLE confidence in God. That kind of confidence brings God on the scene every time! And that’s exactly the kind of confidence we should ALL have in God! He hasn’t left us hanging out to dry, He is absolutely aware of everything you have going on in your life right now, and forever! If God said it in His Word, He will do it. Period. So when need something from God, CHECK THE WORD, and have full confidence in what it says! Pray the promise, not the problem. Pray with the wisdom of God, that’s where your confidence is!

It is written in 1 John 5:14-15,
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Now, what part of “whatsoever we ask” do you not understand? If we are God’s children, then we will only ask for what is pleasing to God and His Kingdom. Like Father, like son (or daughter), right? The sky is the limit, so ask, IN CONFIDENCE, and RECEIVE!