The idea of being double-minded bothers me . . . a lot. That we have these two parallel processors inside . . . one of God and one of “the flesh.” Both vying for control. All the time. It’s sobering and troubling. There’s an old saying . . . “When two people are in charge, no one is.” At the end of the day, one “voice” will rule.
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)
Yes, the verse puts God and money opposed to each other, but isn’t the principle the same for God versus the flesh? When anything competes with God, aren’t we forced to choose? Aren’t we constantly deciding between “me and mine” and “He and His?” Between “my way” and “His way” of responding to life, to people and to circumstances?
I think it turns on what’s first. “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) says the Holy Spirit’s voice is first. Or maybe it’s the deepest-seated of the two . . .
Thomas Kelly from A Testament of Devotion . . .
“There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level, we may be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings. The secular world of today values and cultivates only the first level believing this where the real business of mankind is done . . . But we know that the deep level of prayer is the most important thing in the world. It is at this deep level that the real business of life is determined.”
“ . . . at a profounder level,” I like that. God is more profound than our flesh. His Kingdom is more profound than anything in this life. But how do we get to this deeper, “profounder” level and stay there?
Here’s one simple approach I ripped off from Skye Jethani’s book With. Walk through your day in constant contact with the Father, saying to Him . . . “I thank you Father. I trust you Father.” “I thank You. I trust You.” That’s “praying without ceasing” in the best kind of way. It’s being with God and being reminded that God is with me. It reinforces the “default setting” of gratitude in my heart and it reminds me that God is Who I’m trusting with everything, minute by minute, outcome by outcome. I’ve been doing this a few days now and it’s been amazing. My awareness of His presence and His care for me has spiked. Very cool way of living. I feel less double-minded because “my mind is stayed on Thee” instead of me.
Prayer – “I thank you Father. For Jesus. For the Holy Spirit. For the life you’ve given me as an adopted son in your family. I trust you, Lord. Give me the wisdom to know what to do next, the courage to do it and the faith to trust you with whatever happens. In your Son’s beautiful name I pray. Amen.”
