A Double Minded Man!

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”  (James 1:6-7 ESV)

One of the first Biblical truths that James tells his believing brethren is in verse 5 “if any of you lack wisdom, let him as of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” But it’s verses 6-7 that really catch my attention. Here he says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” Then he continues in verse 7, “For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”  

A “double-minded” man, what does that mean? This term from the Greek “dipsuchos” is a compound word, made up from “dis which is “two,” and “psyxe,” which is “soul”. Or someone who, as one commentator states, is "spiritual schizophrenic." This person is the most miserable of all. They are torn up inside about whether to trust in God, themselves, or this world. They keep going back and forth not knowing what they really want, or as verse 6 says “is doubting and being tossed by the wind’.  As soon as they “try” to trust God and convince themselves that God will “give to all men generously and without reproach”, they turn around and take the problem back and convince themselves that they in fact know how best to handle the problem themselves. Now I know some of you are saying “that’s me” I keep taking my problems back and not leaving them with God. I think I know the reason for that, because I have done that on more than one occasion myself.

I believe the problem is that when we keep going back and forth, we rely on our feelings to show us the correct answer instead of the Word of God. We start saying “that just doesn’t feel right,” and then we head in another direction. As we become more and more mature and comfortable in our walk with our Savior, we rely less and less on our feelings and more and more on God’s Word and the promises it contains. As long as we continue to rely on our feelings, we’ll never be settled on an answer; we’ll continually be tossed back and forth, driven by the seas and tossed by the wind of our emotions.

Feelings are often controlled by circumstances or events we have no control over. There are days when, honestly, I do not feel saved. I mean, based on my actions and thoughts, how could God ever forgive me and take me into His presence for all of eternity? But according to His Word, He has forgiven me, remembers my sins (past, present, and future) no more, He has put them as far from me as the east is from the west. Now the choice is mine: do I believe in God or trust my feelings? I know you have, or will have, to answer that question one day. If not about your salvation, then about some other promise in God’s Word, will you trust His word, or will you trust your feelings?

James tells his fellow believers not to be “spiritually schizophrenic”; he says to make up your mind. Will you trust your emotions, which constantly change, or will you trust God and His Word? The best way to be a stable-minded believer is to know God’s Word, to know His promises, and to know that our Savior loves us and will never leave us.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"