Part 7 (1/2)

Sometimes a lack of concentration creates a lack of comprehension. Perhaps as you are reading the Bible, you find yourself hurrying to get through so you can do something else. Out of a sense of duty, you are determined to finish reading a chapter-and you do. But when you are finished, you can't recall anything you read. Your eyes scanned the pages, but your mind was engaged somewhere else.

Perhaps you have even experienced this battle for your mind in church. You attend regularly-the devil hasn't been able to stop that-but he still causes your mind to wander during the sermon. Have you ever been fully engrossed in listening to a sermon, and then you suddenly realize your mind has wandered and you have no idea what was said?

If the devil can rob you of the benefits of reading the Bible and hearing G.o.d's Word at church, he has won some major skirmishes in the battle for your mind. This is why Peter says to ”gird up the loins of your mind.” You must take action by confronting your wandering mind and disciplining it to focus on what is important.

In conversation, I used to fake it when I realized my mind had wandered. Now I deal with it honestly and when it is appropriate I ask, ”Would you please back up and repeat that? I let my mind wander off, and I didn't hear a thing you said.” This kind of behavior not only interrupts the plan of the enemy but also brings victory over the problem.

It's not easy to discipline your mind when it has been allowed to wander aimlessly, but you can do it. When you discover your thoughts have wandered, you must exercise discipline and make the necessary corrections. The devil would like to convince you that you can't help yourself, but when you consistently come against his bid for your mind, he is defeated, and you have won another battle.

CHAPTER 28.

The Time-Waster of Wondering When you say the words, ”I wonder,” they sound innocent and honest. They also represent the way we avoid certainty and making decisions.

Suppose you're the CEO of a business. Every day twenty people come to your office and ask you to make decisions. Yours is the final answer on everything that goes on in the corporation. Instead of giving decisive answers, you rub your chin, stare out the window, and say, ”I wonder. I wonder what we should do about that.”

An indecisive CEO wouldn't stay in that position very long. The position is much too important to the overall success and well-being of the organization and all a.s.sociated with it. You are not in that position to wonder-you're there to act.

Many of us forget this is the way it is with the Christian life as well. Often, instead of choosing what we need to do, we avoid facing the situation by saying, ”I wonder.” I know because I've done it. In times past, when I've been invited to a party or to be the featured speaker at a banquet, I've said, ”I wonder what I should wear.” It's easy for me to waste a lot of time looking through my closet, considering the color and style, as I try to choose just the right outfit for a particular occasion.

This may seem like such a small thing-and it really is. The problem, however, is that if we allow enough of these wonderings in our lives, not only do we fail to accomplish the things we need to do, but wondering becomes the normal way our minds function and we waste a lot of time. Being indecisive keeps us from moving forward and can eventually defeat us.

Being indecisive keeps us from moving forward and can eventually defeat us.

G.o.d's Word clearly teaches us to be decisive. I asked a friend where she wanted to eat lunch and she asked, ”What are my options?” As soon as I told her she thought for a few seconds and made a decision. We should know our options and then make decisions. Wondering keeps us floating between two or more things and never settling on anything. It is quite frustrating not only to us but, perhaps even more so, to other people involved with us. It is fine to ponder an issue for a reasonable amount of time. I am not suggesting we make rash decisions without giving them proper thought. But I am trying to be very clear about the total waste of ”wondering.”

Know what you want G.o.d to do and ask Him to do it! Sometimes G.o.d's people are reluctant to ask boldly for big things, but Jesus has given us permission to step out in faith and ask boldly. And yet some still waste time just wondering. They wonder what it would be like if G.o.d would give them a better job. They wonder what it would be like if G.o.d would give them a larger house. Don't wonder . . . ASK!

So stop wondering and start acting! That's one of the most important things I've learned about the wondering mind. Rather than wondering what I should wear to a banquet, I look at my clothes and I decide. G.o.d gave me the ability to make wise choices, so I can just do it instead of wasting my time wondering.

Wondering and indecision can become strongholds in our minds that can leave us feeling confused, insecure, and ineffective. But that's not G.o.d's plan. He wants us to overcome the wondering thoughts by believing then receiving the answer to our prayers from G.o.d, by faith.

Jesus did not say, ”Whatever things you wonder when you pray, you will have.” Instead, He said, ”Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it]” (Mark 11:24).

CHAPTER 29.

Double-Minded and Confused My friend Eva received a summons for jury duty in a robbery trial. For two days, twelve citizens listened to the prosecuting attorney as he presented evidence to indicate the accused had broken into a home and stolen many items. Eva was ready to convict him.

On the third day, the defense attorney presented the other side of the picture. The more Eva listened, the more confused she became. What once seemed very obvious now seemed ambiguous and contradictory. Although the jury did convict the man, Eva said she struggled over making the right decision. Each attorney, when he was speaking, seemed to be the most convincing.

Many Christians live much the same way day to day. They have become what James calls double-minded.

If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving G.o.d [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind (James 1:56).

For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (vv. 78 KJV).

They're sure of one thing until something else happens, and then they flip-flop opinions. In their double-mindedness, they flit from one opinion to the other. They're sure they know what to do, and then they switch again. The moment they feel sure they have made the decision they plan to stick with, they begin to wonder if it was the correct one. They continually doubt and question their reasoning.

This kind of behavior is not the same as being open-minded. To be open-minded means being willing to hear all sides of an issue-like jurors should be at a trial. But eventually we have to sort through the evidence or the circ.u.mstances in life and say, ”This is what I'm going to do.”

That sounds good, but too many people have trouble being decisive. ”What if I make a mistake?” they ask. ”What if I choose the wrong thing?” Those are legitimate questions, but they are not meant to paralyze G.o.d's people and prevent them from acting. Too often, these are tools Satan uses to distract and prevent Christians from taking action.

I'm an expert on this. For many years, I was that double-minded person James wrote about. I didn't like being that way. It took so much energy to keep rethinking the same problems. But I was so afraid of making a mistake I didn't know how to make good decisions. It took a long time before I realized the devil had declared war against me, and my mind was his personal battlefield. At that moment of awareness, I felt totally confused about everything but I didn't understand why.