It has always been a curious expression to me, ‘double-minded’. What does it mean to be double-minded? The popular definition would have to do with being a person who compromises, or can’t stay the course. I remember hearing the phrase, “of two minds” about a thing. Os Guiness gives a very helpful definition of doubt in his book In Two Minds. He says, “When you believe, you are in one mind and accept something as true. Unbelief is to be of one mind and reject that something is true. To doubt is to waver between the two, to believe and disbelieve at the same time, and so to be in ’two minds.’”
It’s that point when you don’t know which answer is the right one, so you begin the mental gymnastics of the pros and cons to each answer. Yet, what James is referring to here seems to be a prerequisite to seeing God doing something amazing in your life, especially when you have been dealing with the “testing of your faith” (1:3). Too often we want from God, but are not willing to trust the God from whom we are wanting. One writer puts it like this:
The answer from God depends on assurance in God1
To see God move in our lives, the challenge is always to have the faith to believe He will move in the way we need, not just the way we want. James says that we are not to waver in our trusting God. The truth is more of us are like that man in Mark 9:24 who said, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” We have to be reminded that God is still in charge and that He is not in the habit of disappointing His children. What the Enemy wants us to do is to waver, to be unsure about what God says, or even what God will do. That’s how he got to Eve in the garden(Gen. 3:3-5), and it’s how he gets to us more often than not.
I heard someone give an illustration once about a wooden bucket for a well he came upon. He thought it was useless at first, because it had been sitting next to a barn in the sun, unused for a long time. He could see daylight between the wooden slats of the bucket. Certainly, this thing would never hold water again.
But an older man with him tied the bucket to the well rope and let it drop into the water below. In a couple of days they came back and turned the crank to draw the bucket back up. It was full of clear, cool well water and was not leaking a drop.
The water had re-hydrated the wooden slats until they fit together as originally designed, and the bucket was useful again.
If you’ve been dealing with doubt, take a dip in the water!
Prayer focus
- In what ways have you been double-minded?
- Are you willing to trust God for what you release to Him?
- Ask for the wisdom you need to continue to believe God for your breakthroughs, victories, and grounding.
1 Blue, J. R. (1985). James. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 821). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.