Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
When you feel like there's no hope, when you
feel like there's nowhere to turn, where there's
no answers, no explanations, what do you do?
Where's God when you feel stuck, paralyzed by
fear? That's today. Stay with me. When crisis
strikes without warning, even the most devoted
believers can find themselves paralyzed. We know
what we should do, but we're stuck, frozen. unable
to move forward. I'm Dave Drewy, and today on
Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram offers biblical
wisdom to survive whatever you're facing. Maybe
it's a devastating loss, a financial collapse,
or a relationship in ruins. We want to follow
God, but honestly, we don't know how. In today's
study of James chapter 1, Chip describes a supernatural
resource that shows you precisely what to do,
when to do it, and how to take the next step,
even when you're stuck. And a bit later, Chip
will describe one of the largest match opportunities
in the history of Living on the Edge, so that
you can double the impact of your generous year
-end support. But right now, let's continue the
series called The Art of Survival in an Age of
Chaos. I want to tell you about a man that I
got to know very, very well. We became very close
friends. He was a fabulous athlete. And we got
to know each other, and then I heard his story.
Jerry was a phenomenal athlete who had a future
in football. I mean, millions of dollars in his
future. Absolute unbelievable. He was walking
downtown with his girlfriend and on a downtown
street, two guys came out of a bar and they were
fighting and one of them pulled out a knife.
And Jerry instinctively stepped in to try and
break up the fight to save one of them. It looked
very, very bad. And as he pulled them apart and
got them away, he said, all I heard was a loud
bang, bang, and then searing pain as two bullets
lodged in his back. Jerry was paralyzed from
that moment forward. And as I talked to Jerry,
I thought, if anyone, anyone, sort of would have
a right to say, why me? I tried to save someone's
life. I'm trying to do what is good. And I get
two bullets in the back. And I mean, his career
was one of those that would be fame, millions
and millions of dollars. He was the star that
everyone wanted to play on their team. And he's
devastated. It's gone. When Jerry first had this
situation, I would call him a nominally Christian.
He believed in God, did not have a close or personal
relationship with God. And his whole world was
falling apart. And he confessed to me over and
over and over. I just said, why? Why me, God?
Why? I don't understand. And then he went to
rehab and he watched two sets of people. And
he said, I watch people whose lives crumbled.
All they did is ask why. And they wallowed in
self -pity and their focus was inward. They made
little progress and their lives were a disaster.
And he said, then there were a few people, just
a very, very few people that weren't asking why.
They were asking, what do I need to do in this
situation to get better? What can I control?
How do I make it through today? And where can
there be hope? Because as of right now, my life
is devastated. And I learned some things from
Jerry that I want to share with you. And God
shared some things with me that were a great
help as Jerry became a great friend. And God
really transformed his life. And so when you
don't feel like there's hope, when you need to
know what to do, and how do you hang in there
when it feels like... You just can't. What do
you do? That's the art of survival. And God has
an answer. And God gave a word to Jesus' half
-brother James. James chapter 1, here's the principle.
Don't ask why, ask what. Survivors, people that
make it through the most devastating personal
times or even global times, ask three questions.
Question number one, what can I control? Answer,
my attitude. Question number two, what must I
do to make it through today? Answer, endure.
Remember, hupo meno. I mean, don't give up, don't
give in, hang on to the promises of God. And
third, what hope do I have for tomorrow? Answer,
an all -powerful, all -knowing, sovereign God
who is good promises to take. the very worst
that you experience in this life and turn it
for your best and will either allow you to experience
that in this life or in the one to come with
him in heaven. Jerry stopped asking why and he
started asking what. And as he did, he began
to focus on, I'm going to consider this an opportunity.
I'm going to consider that maybe God has a plan
for me. And he'll use me in ways that are not
about fame or fortune or money. But he allowed
this to happen. He didn't cause it. And Jerry
went into training. And Jerry became a world
-class athlete again, but this time in a wheelchair
and won gold medals. He traveled all over the
world, all over the United States. He then went
in and became a marathoner where he won the gold
medal in the marathon in a wheelchair. 26 .2
miles. You would meet Jerry and he shared his
testimony of how the supernatural power of the
Spirit of God inside of his life in the midst
of the most devastating thing actually changed
his life to the point where I remember having
a very private conversation. He said, Chip, if
I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change
a thing. Do I like sitting in this chair? No.
He said, but I thought money and fame and prosperity
were my ticket to the life that's really life.
And he said, you know, I was famous and I had
a big future. He said, but I've experienced an
intimacy with Jesus Christ, a peace and a joy
and a power. And God has used my life all around
the world to change people's lives because I
wasn't a victim. I was a survivor. because he
gave me hope. He gave me the grace to endure
when I didn't think I could. And it changed me
from a nominal, I kind of believe in God, to
a dedicated follower of Jesus. And then he used
my difficulty to share the love of Christ with
other people whose lives will be different forever
and ever. Now, here's what I want you to know.
Jerry got stuck. I didn't share that part of
the story. You know, when you hear a story like
Jerry's, it sounds almost like a fairy tale.
This happened. He made a few great choices. If
I told you the long version, I would tell you
about when he was in rehab and was depressed.
I mean, clinically depressed. When he wallowed
in self -pity. When he was ready to give up.
When he didn't care. Jerry got stuck. Here's
what I want you to know. When things are happening,
the way they are in our life. You don't have
a job. Maybe your marriage wasn't going well
and now it's a train wreck. It's a mess. Maybe
one of your kids has been impacted. Maybe you
have no idea where you're going to get food tomorrow.
You don't have any money or the business that
you built has evaporated. Maybe your mental health,
you are depressed. You are discouraged. I don't
know where you're at, but I know many of you,
you're stuck. And you're saying, I want to consider
it all joy. I want to allow God to test me, and
I want this endurance to make me mature and complete.
I want a story like Jerry's, but I'm stuck. I
can't get there. I'm trying hard, but am I just
supposed to pretend that I have joy? God understands.
And he knows that we get stuck. We'll hear more
from Chip Ingram's message in just a moment.
First, we're inviting you to multiply your year
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through Living on the Edge while there's still
time. go to livingontheedge .org. From this series
called The Art of Survival in an Age of Chaos,
Chip Ingram is teaching from James chapter 1.
And in verses 5 through 8 of chapter 1, he's
now going to shift. And early on he said, don't
ask why, ask what. And he told us that the key
is first your attitude. Now he's going to tell
you that you need a resource. And it's a resource
more valuable than money. It's a resource even
more valuable than a friend, as important as
that is. There's a resource that he wants to
give you that when you get stuck, when you don't
know what to do in your circumstance, you don't
know what to do in your relationship, you don't
know what to do in terms of your geography, he
says, I have a resource that will show you exactly
what to do, and I promise to give it to you 100
% of the time. Follow along as I read. Remember,
let endurance have its perfect result. You might
be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Look at verse 5. But, and by the way, in the
Greek text, this is the strongest word used for
a contrast. I mean, it's, but, if any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to
all men generously and without reproach, and
it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith
without any doubting. For the one who doubts
is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed
by the wind. For let not that person or that
man or woman expect that they will receive anything
from the Lord, being double -minded, unstable
in all your ways. And in this little passage,
he's going to teach you and he's going to teach
me. What do you do when you're stuck in your
pain? What do you do when emotional, financial,
relational issues are flaring around and you
want to follow God and you literally don't know
how? Here's what I want you to know. Number one
is that God understands when we get stuck. God
wants to help you when you're stuck. God gives
you a condition that if you will fulfill this
condition, He promises He'll show you exactly
what to do. And now let's break this down to
understand God's offer of supernatural wisdom.
That's the resource. By the way, wisdom here
isn't being smart. It's not intellectual. This
is the Hebrew sense of wisdom. Hebrew wisdom
means the skill and the ability to know what
to do, when to do, and how to do it in the midst
of any situation or relationship. God's wisdom
literally from the Old Testament and James' writing
as a Jew to these Jewish Christians, he's saying
God has a design for life and he wants to bring
about the best possible ends by the best possible
means for the most possible people for the longest
possible time. And there is a way, there's a
way to think, there's a way to do decisions,
there's a way to do relationships, there's wisdom,
there's this skill that God wants to give. to
those who ask. And so what he's promising to
this early group who find themselves, I believe
in Jesus the Messiah. Fifteen years ago, he was
raised from the dead. He showed himself to over
500 witnesses. They believe. Their lives have
been transformed. They've seen miracles. And
now the world is falling apart. And they say,
God, what do we do? He says, consider it all
joy. But we're stuck. Now what do we do? He says,
ask God for wisdom and he'll give it. But I want
you to know this. He says, you have a responsibility.
This isn't about trying hard, figuring it out
your own way. He says, let him ask. It's a command.
And the idea of this word is, let him ask for
a gift in prayer. This is a word for prayer that's
not just, I'm praying or Lord, help me. This
is coming to God and saying. I don't know what
to do about this relationship, about money, about
housing, about location, about a big decision.
I don't know what to do. God says, if you lack
wisdom, number one, ask. And here's the promise.
He'll give it generously and without reproach.
I've been a pastor for over 35 years, and I've
seen people stuck in health issues, relational
issues. financial issues, legal issues, criminal
issues. And it's always amazed me that there's
times when a Christian will get stuck and they
will do almost anything in the world to figure
out what they ought to do except go to God in
genuine humility and ask Him what to do. And
for years that used to puzzle me, but it doesn't
puzzle me anymore. See, I think many people have
a very warped view of God. I think many people
feel like God is arms crossed. And when we want
and really need His help, we tend to think that,
you know, I lied and I've stolen or I've not
been the kind of Christian I know I should be
or I have some areas of immorality in my life
or I haven't obeyed what I know. And how could
I go to God now when I've messed up, when I know
I'm not the person that I should be? And did
you notice what it says? Ask of God who gives
to all men. The world means generously. In fact,
literally this phrase is, come to the gift -giving
God. You know, God loves you. And like a father
who understands when his kids mess up, his desire
isn't for you to get everything cleaned up before
you come to him. His desire is just come. You
just come as you are. It thrills your Father's
heart when you say, I can't do this. I need your
help. I don't understand. Yes, we all have some
issues where we've done some things that we know
are wrong. But he says he gives generously, and
then I love this word, without reproach. It means
that his arms aren't crossed. He's not pointing
with a finger and said, well, you want help,
but what about this or what about that? No, this
is when Jesus says, come unto me. All of you
that are heavy laden, that are burdened, that
are overwhelmed, come, I'll give you rest. You
serve a God who is kind and good and loving and
understanding. It's why Jesus, when he taught
the disciples to pray, he introduced a foreign
concept. In the Old Testament, there's not a
lot of references to God as our Father. And Jesus
would say, when you pray, pray Abba. It's a term
of endearment of a small child connected to his
papa or his father. And I just want to remind
you, when we go through difficult times, some
of us blame other people. We can blame the government.
We can blame circumstances. But down deep, many
of us blame ourselves. And God would want you
to know that I want you to come and I want to
help you. But did you notice there's a condition
here? He says, I want you to ask, but let him
ask in faith without any doubting. There's two
conditions. It assumes that you lack wisdom because
of the construction and the grammar here. But
then he says, we only receive God's wisdom if
we, one, ask in faith, and two, without any doubting.
So what's that mean? Let's figure out what it
means to ask in faith. What it means to ask in
faith is trusting and believing and having confidence
in God's character and his word that you'll do
whatever he shows you. Ask in faith. In other
words, it's not, oh Lord, I would kind of like
to know your opinion on what I ought to do in
this devastating situation. This is, Lord, I'm
believing you're the all -knowing, all -powerful
God. You're the sovereign God of the universe.
I can trust your word. I can trust your character.
I'm asking in faith. And then notice without
any doubting. Some people get tripped up on this.
This word for doubting means without judgment
or wavering. This is not that feeling that we
all have at times like, God, are you really there?
Or do I doubt that you might show up? Or are
you really going to take care of me? God knows
we're human. He knows that we'll have struggles
at times and have some intellectual doubts. This
passage is not saying that. This passage is talking
about the kind of doubt that has disloyalty.
Because notice what he says, he explains it later.
He says, come to him without any doubt, for the
one who comes with doubt like that is unstable
in all his ways. In fact, is double -minded.
too sold. We get our word schizophrenia. It's
a picture of someone who says, God, I really
want to know what you want me to do, but I'm
not really committed to doing it. I just want
to know what your will is so I can evaluate whether
I will obey or not obey. And then notice he says,
let not that person expect that he'll get anything
from the Lord. So here's what I want you to get.
I know some of you are going through really really
difficult times. And I know that God wants to
work in us before he works through us. And so
come to God and ask. And then here's what you
need to do. You need to come to God. Think of
it as a contract or a blank check. And what God
wants you to do is sign the bottom of the contract
and say, Lord, what should I do about where I
should live? What should I do about this problem
relationship? What should I do about the business
that is lost? What should I do to make it through
today? And God says, if you will come to me and
ask in faith and then say, Lord, whatever you
show me before I know what it is, I'll do it.
He says, 100 % of the time, I'll show you what
to do. See, sometimes when you say, Lord, show
me your wisdom, we unconsciously have a box that
says, as long as it fits inside of this. In another
time, I needed God's wisdom, and he said, I want
you to relocate from this side of the United
States to that side of the United States. And
then it was, oh, Lord, no, my wife doesn't want
to go. This won't work. It's going to cost a
lot of money. I had all these reasons. But when
you want God's wisdom, he says, come and you
sign up and say, I will do, Lord, whatever you
want me to do. And here's what he promises. He
will do it. 100 % of the time. This is Living
on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Chip is presenting
a study in James. This brief teaching series
is called The Art of Survival in an Age of Chaos.
Please stick around because Chip is in the studio
to share an encouraging word for pastors and
those who care about them. First, I'll point
you to an outstanding resource that compliments
our current teaching series. It's a book written
by Chip Ingram called The Art of Survival. The
first century church was built in desperate times,
not unlike our own. And the book of James speaks
to desperate people with a calming message about
remaining strong in chaotic times. And you can
order a copy of Chip's book, The Art of Survival,
by going to livingontheedge .org. And then I'll
remind you that Living on the Edge is the recipient
of a generous match that's going to catapult
our ministry efforts in 2026. And we're calling
upon you to join us in this exciting opportunity
to reach and train more pastors next year. Leading
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Chip? You know, it's not uncommon for me to hear
from pastors who say, Chip, I listened to Living
on the Edge on my way to the church office. Some
days I feel like you're the only colleague that
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This isn't just another fundraising appeal. It's
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or visit livingontheedge .org. Feeling frozen
in fear? Well, if so, Chip Ingram's message is
just for you. I'm Dave Drewy, urging you to listen
again Thursday to Living on the Edge.