In the last study we were thinking about finding our security in God as a Father. We need to think about that little more. I believe that once we solve this problem of finding security many of the other problems in your life will be solved.

It is wonderful to see that God has made provision for every single need of ours. You know when God created Adam He gave him certain desires, legitimate desire and sinful desires. For example the desire for food, as a result of which Adam was hungry and he would feel thirsty, and he needed to drink water. Now can you imagine, if God had created these desires in Adam for food and water, and if He had not provided food and water in the world, how terrible it would have been? Adam’s life would have been a torture; hunger but no food, thirst but no water.

But you see that when God put such a desire within Adam, He provided food and water outside, in the world, and there is plenty of it, for all of us. In the same way with sleep – the desire to rest, we all need to sleep. That is why God has made the sun, the earth to move; rotate on its axis, and the sun to rise and set, so that we have day and night. So that people can sleep and rest. God has made provision for that. Our bodies automatically sleep when we are tired. In a similar way the sexual desire too. If God created man with tremendous sexual desire, but never gave him a wife, what would happen to Adam? He would be absolutely frustrated. When God created Adam with such a desire, He also gave him a wife. What do we learn from all these things? That if there is a desire that God has created in our heart which is not answered, there is a provision for it somewhere.

Spiritually also it is the same. There are longings we have in our heart for God. And He wants to fulfil all of them fully. One of the greatest needs we have in our life is to find security, to be free from loneliness, from feeling lost and alone in this world. It is very easy to feel like that. You can live in a home with many children and yet feel lonely. You can be in a large church and feel lonely. In fact, there are a lot of people who meet in small house churches with just 5 or 6 people who are more free from loneliness than someone who attends a church with 3000 members. It is not just a lot of people around us that removes loneliness from our life.

I want to tell you, if you want to find the answer to you loneliness in just finding friends among people, you will never have a complete answer. You will be disappointed one day. You need to first find your answer to your loneliness in God, in Jesus. The Bible says that there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, and that is Jesus Christ. So, when we know God as a Father who cares, we are no longer orphans.

An orphan is one who has no father and mother. If he has a need suddenly, whom can he go to? He can go to some uncle or some aunty but he will have to go like a beggar. He doesn’t know whether the uncle or aunty will help him. The uncle or aunty may ill treat him in a very bad way. But if he has a father, the father won’t treat the son like a beggar. He can go and ask his father for anything, any amount of money, and he can ask his father to go through any amount of inconvenience. But he hesitates to ask an uncle or an aunty or somebody else. When he has a father, he is secure. If he has a problem and he doesn’t know the solution to, he can discuss it with his father. If he is far away in some city, he can ring up his father. It is wonderful to have a father, an earthly one, and it is exactly the same spiritually.

When you have found God as your heavenly Father, you can never feel lonely again. It is impossible, because the phone line is always open. You can always ring Him up; you can always call Him wherever you are. You can tell Him every need of yours. In fact, He knows your need even before you tell Him. He has an answer to every problem you can ever face in your life. Let me assure you this. I hope you believe it. It doesn’t matter what your problem is. It doesn’t matter how serious it is. I want to tell you, in Jesus name, that God has a solution for it. If you come to Him in faith as unto a Father who desires to help you, He won’t scold you.

I want to give you a lovely promise from the word of God, from the letter of James, so that your faith does not rest on my words. Faith comes by the word of God. I may say something to you in these studies, but how do you know I am speaking the truth? I may be just telling some psychologically nice things to make you feel nice. But that will evaporate. Once this study is over, you might feel nice for a few minutes or may be for a few hours and then, when you face the reality of life, you are stuck. You need to read this again to soothe you. I am not speaking to you, over these series of studies, just to soothe you psychologically.

These are real answers to the real problems of life. This is what God’s word says. ‘‘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’’ (Js. 1:5). ‘If any of you lack wisdom,’ what is wisdom? There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge means the study of some particular subject. It could be chemistry, it could be mathematics, and it could be the Bible. You can have chemistry knowledge, mathematics knowledge, or Bible knowledge. With chemistry knowledge you may still have problems. With Bible knowledge also you may still have problems. That chemistry knowledge doesn’t help you with that particular practical problem in life. Nor does the Bible help you in practical problems in life. There are so many people with so much Bible knowledge who are still anxious, worried, tensed, fighting, quarrelling, insecure, jealous, and competitive and everything. Their Bible knowledge is no better than the knowledge of mathematics or science.

But what is wisdom? Wisdom is the knowledge of God, which helps us to find a practical solution. Not one which doesn’t work. That will be a theoretical solution. It is a practical solution to a particular problem that we are facing. That is wisdom; the knowledge of God, not knowledge of a book. Do you know that there is a lot of difference in knowing the Bible and knowing God?

Supposing you were separated from your father from childhood, and lived far away from your father for 25 years. And you read a book about your father’s life, every detail, you would know about your father by reading that book, but you don’t know your father. You have never spoken to him for 25 years. But another child, who has grown up with his father for 5 or 6 years, who has never read any book about his father, knows his father better than you know your father. Many people read the Bible. It is like reading a biography of your father and you don’t know your father himself.

Wisdom is the knowledge of God as a Father and thus finding a solution to whatever problem I am facing right now. It doesn’t matter what problem it is. It could be a family problem, a financial problem, a problem of marrying, getting your children married, problem of getting education for your children, or employment for them, or finding a house to live in. There are so many difficulties in the world in which we live, but the answer is in God.

‘If anyone lacks wisdom,’ it means anyone. You qualify to be one of those. Do you lack wisdom? That means do you lack a solution to the problem you are facing? ‘‘Let him ask God.’’ What should you do? You run around and ask so many people and it has not solved your problem. Why don’t you do something else now? Why don’t you ask God? God can hear you right where you are. Right now if you call out to God, He can hear you. Will He give you? Sure. He is a Father. He is not an uncle. He is not a neighbour. Even a helpful neighbour may help us but a father much more. He is the best Father of all. And He will give you the best.

Jesus once said, ‘‘If you fathers know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask Him?’’ If your son asks you for bread, will you give him a stone? No. If he asks for an egg will you give him a scorpion? Will you give him something to harm him? No, you will give him exactly what he needs. That is exactly how God is. He gives us exactly what we need. James says, ‘God will give you and generously.’ That is what this verse says in James 1:5. Not few drops. You ask for a spoon, He will give you a bucket. You need a spoonful of wisdom but He will give you a bucket of it, generously. God is like that.

And the other thing it says here is without scolding or reproaching you. You know, fathers sometimes scold their children, ‘Oh you stupid fellow, don’t you know the answer to that?’ God will never scold us. Remember this. He will never scold us. He will never say, ‘Why don’t you know the answer to that?’ It will be given to you. There is only one condition. Now pay attention to this condition. You have to ask in faith. That is what it says in James 1:6. In fact it goes on to say, in verse 6-7 that, ‘‘If you don’t ask Him in faith, you won’ get it.’’

You may want the wisdom and God may want to give it to you. The need is there. The solution is there but you don’t get it. Because, when you ask, you don’t believe. It is that simple. Maybe this is the reason why you have not found the solution to your problems yet. Why don’t you decide today onwards, to believe the revelation of God that Jesus brought? – God as the Father who knows your every need. It may be a physical need for healing. Maybe a spiritual need, whatever it is. It may be a solution for a family problem that has gone on for many years. You may not be able to solve the problem, but you may be able to solve that part of it that is bothering you.

Ask in faith. Say, ‘Lord, from today I am going to believe. I want to believe that you will solve this problem of mine. Why? Because You are my Father. Because Jesus loves me, He died for me, I am cleansed in his blood, I am Your son, I am your daughter. I have a right to ask You. You are my Father.’ Why don’t you ask God right now? Mention that problem. Be specific. Don’t be general, be specific and say, ‘Lord this particular problem I commit it to You, I trust You to answer me.’ And you can be absolutely certain that God will give you generously without scolding you and God will be glorified. Be sure to give Him the glory when the answer comes.

This is part of the Basic Christian Teachings Series, a set of 72 short messages presented by Zac Poonen.  You can download the audio mp3 files or listen to Basic Christian Teachings by clicking here.