PSALM 27:4 – One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
THEME OF THE DAY. THE DOUBLE-MINDED CHRISTIAN. Did the “spiritual alarm bells” go off in your heart when you read today’s nugget theme? Did the words of James come into your thinking – If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:5-8). Being double-minded is to be unstable; to be confused with a raging battle in the heart between belief and unbelief. James warns us, “Be double-minded and forget answered prayer and intimacy with the Lord.” But in today’s scripture, we see a good form of being double-minded. Not in a competitive way, but in a complementary way. Take a look at David’s heart and we will see he does have his mind directed toward two things – to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. We may paraphrase his double-mindedness like this, “I have one deep longing in my heart that I might be close to the Lord (gaze upon Him), and enjoy Him through the intimacy of prayer (inquire in his temple)”. There is something so simple, so wonderful, and so instructive in his words offering a wealth of encouragement and direction in the Christian life.
The first wonderful, simple and instructive truth is the Christian life should not be complex and complicated. Easy? No. Simple? Yes. If we would learn to fight off worldly distractions, worldly affections, and worldly attachments knowing they are designed to move us away from the simplicity God intends in the Christian life – knowing and enjoying Him – then more of His joy and love would mark our lives. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Let all our affection be bound up in one affection, and that affection set upon heavenly things.”
Another wonderful, simple, and instructive truth from being a rightly double-minded Christian is we would discover why God created us, and then redeemed us. Friends, God didn’t save us just to remove His wrath from us and give us heaven. No, He saved us for Himself to give us Himself; a giving in a reconciled relationship that shows us the reason for our existence now and forever – to gaze upon His beauty and inquire in His temple by relational prayer.
So, are we double-minded Christians? Not in a competing way between doubt and faith; unbelief and belief, but in a complementary and single-focused way – a mind set on two spiritual realities; seeing the beauty of the Lord in His Word and enjoying Him in His temple in prayer. May God enable us to be such double-minded Christians for His glory!
PRAYER: “Father, help me to keep my heart’s gaze on You, Your Son, Your Spirit, and the glory of knowing all Three.”
QUOTE: “We are to have our hearts and minds occupied with One thing – the Lord Jesus. Get this right and all is right.”