Today I'm 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 Druy 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 and 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. Uh 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, he 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 that 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 I I- 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-end donation through an exciting match that's active right now. You know, when you give to Living on the Edge, you're not just supporting one ministry, you're creating a ripple effect. you begin to mobilize people who help other people, who help other people, and that makes a huge difference. Your gift to the match will make an impact.
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Go to livingontheedge.org. From his series called The Art of Survival in an Age of Chaos, Chippingram 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, that 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 flurrying 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 is 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 the 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.
15 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 desires 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, wow, 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.
And 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. Maybe 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. in 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 am 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 its ways. is double-minded, two-soul. 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 Renato Bay. 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 one hundred per cent 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. And 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. I 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 complements 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. 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 a congregation in today's culture is challenging, to say the least.
And pastors, no matter where they serve or how big their church is, need godly, compassionate friends to come alongside them. 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 really understands what I face and what I'm going through. You know, many pastors feel isolated, discouraged, and desperately need solid biblical teaching to fill their own tank. What I want you to know is when you give to this match you're coming alongside thousands of pastors who are pouring out. but rarely get poured into. Look, we can't afford to let our pastors run on fumes.
This isn't just another fundraising appeal. It's a rare multiplication moment. Every dollar given to this match becomes $2 of impact, not just in churches or individuals, but in pastors who lead them. 30 years of faithfulness has brought us here. Your doubled gift propels us into the future.
Thanks so much. Living on the Edge is uniquely postured to minister to pastors and church leaders not only in North America but around the world as well. All that's standing in the way to succeed in this mission are the resources to do so. As you feel God nudging you to respond, please follow his leading. Whatever amount he places on your heart will be multiplied by two because of the match.
That means your gift of $50 becomes $100. Your gift of $100 becomes $200. It's a wonderful time to double the impact of your year-end gift. To give right now, go to livingontheedge.org or call us at 888-333-6003. Remember, when you join Living on the Edge, you're giving to a ministry whose reach is growing faster than ever, with pastors receiving training in more than 28 countries around the world.
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Write to LivingOnTheEdge, PO Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 30024. You can also call 888-333-6003 or visit livingonthege.org. Feeling frozen in fear?
Well, if so, Chip Ingram's message is just for you. I'm Dave Druy, urging you to listen again Thursday to Living on the Edge.
