A PERSON WHO WAVERS BETWEEN TWO THOUGHTS

James 1:5-8 (NKJV):

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

A PERSON WHO WAVERS BETWEEN TWO THOUGHTS

When someone becomes a Christian, the greatest spiritual battle they face is often internal—in the mind. Satan knows that if he can plant seeds of doubt about God’s Word, he can cripple the believer’s faith. The mind is the battlefield, and this is where the enemy attacks most ferociously. The apostle Paul warns us about the importance of our thoughts in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV):

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Satan’s goal is to cause the believer to doubt the truth of God’s Word. He attempts to sow seeds of confusion and unbelief, keeping the person in a state of wavering, where they cannot receive the promises of God. This is exactly what James 1:6-7 describes when it speaks of a person who doubts:

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

Satan knows that if a person fully believes in God’s Word and acts on it, they will receive the promises of God. This is why his main tactic is to create doubt. The moment we begin to doubt God’s ability or His Word, we become vulnerable to his schemes. Consider the example of Peter walking on water (Matthew 14:29-31). As long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus, he walked on the water. But the moment he began to doubt, he began to sink. This is the danger of wavering between two thoughts—when we doubt, we begin to sink in our faith.

DOUBT AND FAITH: A SPIRITUAL BATTLE

Doubt is a spiritual weapon that Satan uses against believers. The enemy has been using this strategy since the Garden of Eden, where he caused Eve to doubt God’s Word:

Genesis 3:1 (NIV):

Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?

Notice how Satan introduced doubt with the question “Did God really say?” He didn’t attack her directly but subtly introduced the idea that God’s Word might not be true or might be restrictive. This is the same strategy he uses today—sowing doubt in our hearts to undermine God’s promises. Eve’s mistake was not holding fast to God’s Word, leading to the fall of humanity (Genesis 3:6).

The same tactic is used today in believers’ lives. For example, God’s Word promises healing: Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV):

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed.

However, when a believer faces sickness, Satan often whispers thoughts like, “Is that really true for you? How can you be healed when you’ve been sick for so long?” These thoughts are designed to cause doubt and make the person question the sufficiency of God’s Word.

Matthew 21:22 (NKJV) says,

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

But when doubt creeps in, we no longer pray in faith. Instead, we pray hoping, unsure whether God will actually answer.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH AND BELIEVING GOD’S WORD

Faith is the key to receiving anything from God. The Bible clearly teaches that without faith, it is impossible to please God:

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV):

But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that faith is not just about believing God can do something, but about believing He will do what He has promised. Faith involves trusting that God’s Word is true regardless of what our circumstances look like. This kind of unwavering faith is required to receive the promises of God, and without it, we become unstable in all our ways (James 1:8).

1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV) says,

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

This verse reveals that when we pray according to God’s will, we can have confidence that He hears us and will answer us. But confidence is only possible when we are sure of God’s Word. Doubt weakens our confidence and hinders God’s work in our lives.

THE STRUGGLE AGAINST DOUBT

Mark 9:24 (NKJV) gives us insight into how to handle doubt:

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

Here, we see a man who desperately wanted to believe but was struggling with doubt. His prayer reveals an important truth: we can bring our doubts to God and ask Him to help us overcome them. God is gracious and merciful. He does not condemn us for our doubts but invites us to bring them to Him so He can strengthen our faith.

OVERCOMING DOUBT AND RECEIVING GOD’S PROMISES

To overcome doubt, we must renew our minds with the Word of God. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:2 (NKJV):

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

As we meditate on God’s promises, we strengthen our faith and silence the voice of doubt. Psalm 119:11 (NKJV) says,

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

When we fill our hearts with God’s Word, doubt has no room to take root.

Moreover, James 4:7 (NKJV) teaches us how to resist the enemy:

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

When doubt comes, we must resist it by standing firm in the truth of God’s Word, rejecting the enemy’s lies, and declaring the promises of God over our lives.

CONCLUSION: WALKING IN UNWAVERING FAITH

As believers, we are called to live by faith. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV) says,

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

This means we trust in God’s Word, regardless of our circumstances. We do not allow doubts to dictate our decisions or our reality.

The Apostle Paul exhorts us to fight the good fight of faith:

1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV):

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

To win this fight, we must hold fast to the Word of God, believe it wholeheartedly, and reject any thoughts that come against it. Romans 8:37 (NKJV) reminds us:

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

When we stand firm in faith, rejecting doubt, we will experience victory in every area of our lives. God’s promises are sure, and He is faithful to fulfill every word He has spoken.

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