A Golden Text - James 1 v.5

When I was doing my National Service in Donnington in Shropshire I used to attend the SASRA meetings for Christians in the forces. They were run by an elderly Welshman who used to travel over to us from his home in Shrewsbury. His name to us was Mr Powell. His memory remains fresh in my mind though the events I describe are over fifty years old. He used to tell us about the revivals he had witnessed in his native Wales. I can still remember his radiant smiling face.

Every week we chose a special text, which we called the silver text, and every month we chose a golden text. I still remember those simple Bible studies with pleasure.

One of the verses that I would today call a golden verse is James 1:5. In the AV it says that if anyone lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives to all men (and women) liberally and "upbraideth not".

To upbraid is not a word in fashion; it is a bit too archaic and a little pompous. It means to scold and find fault. But this simple word hides a glorious depth of meaning. It refers that normal human condition when we pray of rather morbid introspection, that inner voice that says, "Come, come; you can't be serious about this request. You have hardly been a good Christian recently. Your Bible has three days dust on its cover and that evening that was ear-marked for prayer and intercession was spent watching Arsenal thrash Tottenham. And, last week, when your wife dropped that greasy sausage on your new white shirt you were hardly gracious about it." Thus our confidence begins to vanish in a hazy cloud of guilt. But our God is not like this. The good news is this: God delights to answer our prayers and doesn't deflate us with a list of our sins and failures. He gives to us liberally and generously and doesn't go into fault finding. So approach God confidently and experience a little of His extravagant goodness.