Running the race

6 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. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (Jas 1:6-8).

We are living in a period when hipster churchgoers make a virtue of doubt. Their attitude is mirrored by some Christian philosophers and theologians who consider doubting the Bible or various articles of the faith to be intellectually virtuous and healthy. 

It's striking to compare their attitude with the contemptuous, unyielding position of James, stepbrother of Jesus. But when James contrasts faith and doubt, what kind of faith is he referring to? One commentator makes a comparison:

Abraham, Paul says, "did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God" (Rom 4:20). Paul, of course, is well aware that Abraham did, in fact, doubt God's promise on at least one occasion, greeting God's promise about his son with laughter (Gen 17:15-18). Paul's point is not that Abraham never entertained any doubt about God's promise but that Abraham, over many years, displayed a consistency in his faith in God…[James] wants us to understand that God responds to us only when our lives reflect a basic consistency of purpose and intent: a spiritual integrity D. Moo, The Letter of James (Eerdmans 2000), 60-61.

And that certainly dovetails with what James says about Abraham. So the kind of unwavering faith that James is talking about isn't so much intellectual faith, but a life of faith.  Unswerving faith. Goal-oriented faith. A steadfast lifestyle in which we make decisions and lead our lives, day after day and year after year, according to God's promises.

God's promises set the goal, directing the course of our lives. We remain devoted to God throughout the ups and downs of life, throughout the confusions, losses, and disappointments. Throughout the times when we don't understand what God is doing. Throughout the silence, the dry seasons, the unanswered prayers. We get up the next day and continue in the same direction, in a single-minded pursuit of the distant, unseen destination.