Folly Loves Fear

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting.
James 1:5–6a

We are not being told here to avoid doubting; doubt is a part of our human condition. As long as we are in our earthly bodies, shadows will appear longer than their reality and the unknown will always be faced with at least a bit of trepidation.

So nowhere are we told the doubt itself is a sin. Rather, we are told that when we doubt, we have a place to bring it: to the throne in faith that our concerns will be allayed and our hope assured. We are to bring it to the throne of true Wisdom, in prayer.

Doubt run amok paves the sure road back to Folly’s house.

If left in our hands, fear makes us tighten our grip on our doubt. When we hold on to it to puzzle it out ourselves without asking Wisdom to guide our perceptions and inform our unknowns, our unchecked doubt undermines our hope and our assurance of truth. It hardens our hearts and produces rebellion. That’s why “the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6b–8).

Doubt is one of Folly’s greatest foils. Doubt run amok paves the sure road back to Folly’s house. The return ticket to Folly’s house is purchased with doubt and fear. We run back to the house of Folly, who holds more doubt and fear than our souls were meant to bear:

Do you see a person who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
(Prov. 26:12)

We cannot soothe our own doubts well; our sight and understanding are limited. Apart from wisdom, we will rationalize our doubts, casting a pall over the good life that Wisdom provided. We ask the same question as our parents in Eden: “Can this God be trusted?”

We dare not make the God of the universe who hung our moon and stars to be a liar about His own world and word. Better to bring our doubts swiftly to Him, and He will prove to us He is just who He says He is: fully transparent, fully trustworthy, fully true.