Spiritual Schizophrenia

Spiritual Schizophrenia

“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”  James 1:6-8

Double-minded; of two mind- what does that look like?  That is a person who munches on double chocolate brownies while reading a diet book.  That is a person who uses a credit card to buy a ‘getting out of debt’ book.  This is a person who sits in church and is glaring across the building at someone they despise.  That person has a mind that is going in two directions that are diametrically opposed. 

How can you get anywhere if your behaviors keep undoing each other?  According to the Bible, this kind of person does not get anything from the Lord and is, in fact, unstable in all he does.  God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  (Hebrews 13:8).  God is the Ancient of Days.  He has always been.  He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  It sounds like He has some major stability going on.  And as Christians, we have the mind of Christ.  ( I Cor. 2:16.)  So it would appear that in Christ, we have the capability of being single-minded, purposeful and focused.  We have the capacity to be stable in all we do and receive from the Lord.

So much of our instability results from acting on our feelings.  As we gain maturity in Christ, we are able to walk in truth even when it runs contrary to our feelings.  As a new convert we may become angry and want to smack someone; but as we mature and get more Word in us, we come to realize that “Man’s anger works not the righteousness of God.”  It allows us to override those feelings and act in accordance with love.  Staying in the Bible causes us to accept that “all things work together for good”, thus when life stinks, we can have stability knowing that in the end, God will cause us to come out on top.

Stability and singleness of mind is something that we will continually have to work at, but it reaps much fruit in our lives as we hold on tight to the truth in God’s Word.

Dear Lord, despite how life throws many curve balls my way, please help me to be stable.  Help me to stand on your sure foundation and not be moved by the wind and the waves.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri