The struggle with double-mindedness lead Paul to cry out in Romans 7, “ ²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³ but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

On one hand, Paul loved God’s law and saw the tremendous benefits from following it.  On the other hand, he was still struggling with his own flesh.  I think we can all relate to this struggle.

Faith fully trusts that the immense, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, holy God of the scriptures will not lead us astray.  Faith believes God and acts on it.  Let me give you three ways to identify double-mindedness in your own life:

Identifying Double-mindedness

#1 Are there two major influences compete to control your thought life?

A double-minded person is always being pulled in two directions.  They may have a relationship with Jesus, but they also have a relationship with a sinful obsession that distracts them from being fully surrendered to the Lord.

A person who has one foot in the kingdom and one foot in the world will soon discover that they are tossed to and fro but never seem to be going anywhere.  They may be saved, but they will continue to be miserable until they repent and turn away from those competing influences.

#2 Do you find yourself compromising your thought life in one area?

Satan has been tempting people for centuries.  He’s really good at it!  His variety of enticements often lead believers into a double-minded existence.

Satan hates to see believers fully surrendered to the Lord.  Satan know that when people totally surrender to God with a single-minded devotion, God works powerfully through that person.  He will do everything in his power to stop you from living whole-heartedly for Jesus.

Think of what you could do for the Lord if you gain victory over the area you struggle with!

#3 Do you give into old habits easily?

A double-minded person finds it difficult to stay away from the danger zones in their lives.  They flirt with the things that tempt them the most and tend to run to those things when times get tough instead of running to the Lord.

The longer you stay away from the things that pull you into sin, they less tempting they become.  If you can put some distance between yourself and your temptations, those temptations have a much more difficult time grabbing a hold of you and pulling you back down.

Is the Lord demanding perfect faith?  Is He insisting they we never falter?  I don’t think so.  The Lord knows that we’ll struggle.

• If you are a Christian and struggle with doubting God in some areas of your life, God’s Word calls you to repent and trust Him again.
• If you realize that you are not a Christian and following the world’s wisdom instead of God’s wisdom, God’s word call you also to repent and trust God with your salvation.

Either way, single-minded faith in God is restored through repentance.