For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord,[For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].
James 1:7-8 Amplified
I’ve had a couple of really interesting conversations in the last 24 hours that involved looking back versus…well, looking ahead I guess. The comment that was really riveting came from a close friend who is examining his life. At 55, he’s got a lot to examine, and he’s a very thorough guy. He has felt lately a stirring in his spirit about listening more closely to what the Spirit is saying and is making time and space in his life to do that in significant ways; and more to the point, he’s acting on what he hears the Spirit say. His comment was this: “I’ve decided that it’s really hard to follow the Spirit when I’m looking back.”
Something about that word picture just jumped out at me. Imagine the craziness of trying to follow someone if you were turned around backwards, focused on what was behind you instead of what was ahead! It sounds ridiculous — a recipe for crashing into lampposts, signs, vehicles, pedestrians on a sidewalk, etc. And yet…and yet…it’s a pretty familiar stance for me. Trying to follow God without letting go of things in the past that seem too big to forget. So, I try to move forward to where He’s calling me; but I keep glancing back over my shoulder to see what’s happening with all that baggage.
As I was pondering this ah-ha with her, my sister-in-law reminded me of this passage in James about being double-minded. I like the way the Amplified Version leans into the description of such a person: hesitating, dubious, irresolute, unstable and unreliable and uncertain. I mean, I don’t really like it like it, because it’s painful to see my own ambivalent reflection staring back at me from these murky waters. I don’t want to be like any of those words. But the further I go on my journey with God, the more I am challenged by the promise of the verses just before this:
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God,
who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt….
God is a very big God. He is generous. His promises are vast. The life He calls us to is wild and unpredictable and full of adventure, some of which we would never ask for. But He will not force us to follow, He will only quietly invite and supply us with courage and strength beyond our wildest dreams. Following closely requires a keen ear and eye, and frequent glances back? Perhaps the distraction that will cause a pileup on the interstate of life.
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