Day 2113 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

James 1:5 NIV

This one seems like an almost rhetorical message, like one of those questions where the answer is so obvious that it doesn't need to be thought about. All of us lack wisdom. All of us have questions and worries that we spend countless hours thinking about. All of us need to turn to God and learn from Him. Problem is that we've accepted this idea that it's all on us, and so we do everything we can think of first before asking for help.

I was talking to a good friend of mine about this a little bit yesterday and it's pretty clear that this is one of those issues that nearly everyone deals with. Overthinking is a big problem that I have personally. I sit around and consider everything from every angle. I look at every side, imagine every outcome, and usually make things into much bigger issues than they really are. I think a lot of us do that. We allow our minds to run wild and end up imagining the worst or creating mountains out of little bumps in the road.

But we don't have to. We don't have to rely on our ability to figure things out. And that's a truly great thing, because let's face it, we're not all that great at understanding everything. We jump to conclusions, assume things wrong, and allow our emotions to overrule our minds. That's why we need to learn to quiet ourselves so we can give ourselves a chance to hear God. When we're the ones doing all the thinking and figuring then there's plenty of room for error.

Thankfully, this verse reminds us that God's ready to help whenever we're willing to get out of His way and ask for it. It takes a lot of humility and courage to lay our problems and struggles out before God. But it's really the only way to find the wisdom and insight to deal with them. Sure, we can keep on brainstorming ideas that might work only to be let down again and again. But why not go straight to the One who knows what to do?

There's nothing that God can't help us with. There is no problem, no struggle, no weakness that He's not already aware of. So we may as well swallow our pride and ask for His help. He's not going to be ashamed of us because we need help. In fact, He's probably more disappointed if we keep on blindly trying to find our own way instead of letting our faith in Him be our guide.

There is absolutely no shame in asking for help. It only shows that we're willing and ready to learn and grow no matter what it takes. And who better to learn from than the Creator? We just can't go wrong by turning to God and letting Him show us the way!