Wisdom and comfort

We just finished James in the Bible reading plan that I follow. I like to think of myself as a person of action, so James is one of my favorite books. But this time I noticed something different. James tells us,

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 do sometimes feel doubt, and those are the times when I most feel the need to ask God to grant me wisdom. When James says that those who doubt should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, it makes me feel that I am a failure as a believer.

But I realized that, perhaps, when James says that such a person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, he really means that they should not expect to receive wisdom. James is talking about asking for wisdom, so it makes sense that he would still be talking about wisdom.

It may not seem like that should make a difference, but it does! When I doubt and my faith is unstable, I cannot profit from the Lord's wisdom. What I need is the Lord's comfort. James does not say so here, but other verses make it clear that the Lord strengthens us and comforts us when we are weak.

Lord, I pray to you to give me wisdom when I am strong in faith and comfort and strength when I am unstable.