In our passage today, the Bible identifies three gifts from God intended to enable believers to make right decisions. These three gifts are knowledge, wisdom, and reproof. Knowledge involves factual information that enables the believer to possess details before making a decision. The Lord rebuked the simple pointing out that “they hated knowledge” (Proverbs 1:29). Because they hated knowledge, the people did not choose the fear of the Lord. Wisdom, on the other hand, involves the proper use of the knowledge provided by God for the individual. Wisdom takes the facts obtained and uses them to make the right choices. The last of the three gifts completes the package. Reproof entails the enlightenment of error. Knowledge, wisdom, and reproof work together to enable believers to choose wisely and properly.
Decision making is an important element of everyday life. The Bible has many clear guidelines in this area. Every Christian must learn how to make decisions and then trust God with the results. Some decisions involve life changing outcomes, yet every decision must be based on biblically sound principles. The book of James, when referring to prayer, warns the reader of the dangers of indecisive and faithless living. This particular prayer pertains to wisdom, but the principle involves a broader application. A man who struggles with indecisiveness is said to be “double minded” reflecting instability in all his ways (James 1:8). A few chapters later the Bible instructs the “double minded” believer to purify his heart (James 4:8). Believers must learn to make decisions with God’s help and stick with those decisions until the Lord directs otherwise.
The Devil loves to hinder the spiritual blessings that believers possess in Christ. His most effective means is by destroying the believer’s faith in God’s word and keeping the saint from laying up rewards in heaven. By destroying a believer’s courage, the Devil wins the battle. James 4:7-8 sketches a simple yet effective plan for victory in such times of attack. The believer must first submit to God and His word by submitting his will to the will of God. Next, the saint of God must resist the Devil. When the believer submits to God and resists the Devil, the Devil flees rather than sticking around to watch defeat. When the Devil returns later with renewed attempts to discourage, the believer need only repeat the same scriptural strategy.
