{"id":318,"date":"2017-06-03T17:29:05","date_gmt":"2017-06-03T23:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/settledinthetruth\/?p=318"},"modified":"2020-08-05T09:16:12","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T15:16:12","slug":"a-double-minded-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/identity\/a-double-minded-man\/","title":{"rendered":"A Double Minded Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing, for he that doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he shall receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”<\/em><\/span>
\n – James 1:5-8<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"“Maybe God will! \u00a0… But maybe He won’t!” \u00a0Is this what a double-minded person sounds like?<\/p>\n

That’s certainly how many of us came\u00a0to understand it, but the truth is, that is not the inner conversation of a double-minded person. \u00a0Why? \u00a0Because it is really just\u00a0the confused debating of a single mind. \u00a0It is the mind of one, single individual\u00a0who is arguing both sides.<\/p>\n

Our natural mind experiences questioning doubts and concerns daily, and not just concerning the things of Jesus. \u00a0We will concern about a job interview, or work project, supper that evening, and any number of things we can be anxious over. \u00a0It’s the natural state of the natural mind separated from God – anxious for everything, but still only one mind.<\/p>\n

A double-minded person requires two minds: their\u00a0own … and Christ’s.<\/p>\n

“As the scripture says, ‘Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give him advice?’ We, however, have the mind of Christ<\/strong>.”<\/em><\/span>
\n – 1Corinthians 2:16<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We were all born with our own mind – all the heights, lows, and confusions that come with it. \u00a0This is the mind we have learned from\u00a0our experiences in this world, and the one we tend to hold to because it’s familiar. \u00a0Then when we received Jesus we also received His mind. \u00a0Two minds. \u00a0But that doesn’t make us double-minded. \u00a0When we are led by Jesus’ Spirit we are one with Him. \u00a0We see things His way and we think like Him. \u00a0It’s when we are in conflict with Him that we are double-minded.<\/p>\n

At this point it would prove\u00a0useful to clarify what being in conflict means. \u00a0We have all held our doubts whether Jesus told us to do something or not, or we ask for something and wonder if He’s really okay with it. \u00a0Those are just guesses on our part, not conflict – the musings of our old experiences with a worldly mind. \u00a0We are not penalized by God for those! \u00a0He works within us to help us resolve those\u00a0anxious ways of thinking. \u00a0Conflict, however, is not a guess. \u00a0It’s a choice – most often motivated by our emotions – and it is contrary to what we know our Lord has said. \u00a0But again, praise God, we are not penalized for those, either! \u00a0Read on …<\/p>\n

“Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.”
\n – 2 Corinthians 5:17<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus knew what He accomplished on the cross – our righteousness through faith, and peace with God.<\/p>\n

“And the scripture came true that said, ‘Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.’ And so Abraham was called God’s friend.”<\/em><\/span>
\n – James 2:23<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

So Christ’s thoughts\u00a0about our righteousness and peace are part of our minds – we know them because they are part of us – but many of us have other thoughts, too: \u00a0“I’m terrible, I’m a sinner, I’m so awful!” \u00a0And when we believe ourselves over\u00a0Jesus we become double-minded. \u00a0We are no longer thinking like Jesus, so there is no way we can be at the times and places He has prepared for us to receive because those times and places are also in accordance to His thoughts. \u00a0It could not\u00a0occur to us to be anywhere He has in mind because we are following our own opinion. \u00a0We can’t receive from Him! \u00a0He doesn’t penalize us – we penalize ourselves.<\/p>\n

\n

For let not that man suppose that he shall receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Consider a time when any of us may have asked Jesus for something, and we have decided\u00a0His answer is yes. \u00a0So where would Jesus place His answer so that we can receive? \u00a0It would be some place a righteous person at peace with God would consider. \u00a0But it would never occur to anyone who judges themselves\u00a0guilty and disapproved of by God. \u00a0It’s not that God didn’t answer – it’s that the double-minded person is not thinking like Jesus.<\/p>\n

Without His\u00a0mind we are limited to our worldly reasoning, and too often we are limited by our worldly reasoning even knowing His mind. \u00a0When Jesus fed the multitude the worldly reasoning was focused on how little fish and bread there was. \u00a0The worldly mind would not have considered catching a fish and looking in its mouth for the tax money. \u00a0Crossing the waters required a boat – walking across was never an option.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now in all fairness, would those thoughts actually occur to any of us? \u00a0Probably not, but what they illustrate is that our Lord is not limited in meeting a need. \u00a0When we see an empty wallet, it doesn’t mean the answer is no or not yet. \u00a0It just means the answer isn’t there. \u00a0The undisputed truth is that Jesus can! \u00a0And if you are persuaded of your righteousness and peace with God you can believe that Jesus will.<\/p>\n

And you will find yourself at the point of place and time that He has prepared for your answer. \u00a0Instead of debating and analyzing and worrying, you choose to settle in the truth: \u00a0Jesus can, and He will. \u00a0And you go on about your days confident in that. \u00a0You stop worrying about the answer and instead just find yourself at the place and time He has prepared.<\/p>\n

\n

The undisputed truth is that Jesus can! \u00a0And if you are persuaded of your righteousness and peace with God you can believe that Jesus will.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That is what a righteous person at peace with God thinks: “Jesus can, and He will.”<\/p>\n

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists<\/span> (He can) and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him<\/span> (He will).”<\/span><\/em>
\n – Hebrews 11:6<\/span> (brackets ours)<\/em><\/p>\n

If you think something you\u00a0need might\u00a0not happen, how do you behave? \u00a0You worry, argue, isolate, fixate and spend much time on yourself and your need. \u00a0Not the behaviours of a righteous person and certainly not at peace with God. \u00a0But if you are persuaded something you need will happen, how do you behave? \u00a0Certainly what you WON’T be doing is wasting time focusing on yourself \ud83d\ude42 … and if you’re not focusing on yourself then you are likely putting your energies into\u00a0others.<\/p>\n

Settle this in the truth then: you are righteous because Christ obtained that for you, and God delights in you because you are His child.<\/p>\n

\n

Jesus can, and He will.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing, for he that doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[75,73,77,63,79,76,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-identity","8":"tag-anxious","9":"tag-confused","10":"tag-faith","11":"tag-freedom","12":"tag-passions","13":"tag-righteousness","14":"tag-single-minded","15":"entry","16":"override"},"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dzfjk6ctt\/images\/f_auto,q_auto\/v1585754706\/double-minded\/double-minded.jpg?_i=AA","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dzfjk6ctt\/images\/f_auto,q_auto\/v1585754706\/double-minded\/double-minded.jpg?_i=AA","author_info":{"display_name":"Settled in the Truth","author_link":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/author\/settled-in-the-truth\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":861,"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions\/861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/settledinthetruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}