When Anxiety Feels Like Double-Mindedness: Seeing God Beyond the Outcome
I was recently talking with someone I disciple. She was anxious about a new opportunity she’d been waiting on, hopeful, but hesitant. She wanted to believe it was from God, but fear and past disappointment kept whispering otherwise. At one point, she said something I think many of us have said:
“If God doesn’t come through, maybe it just wasn’t His will and that’s okay.”
But the tone in her voice said it wasn’t really okay. She was trying to brace herself for disappointment before it arrived. She confessed that this back-and-forth made her feel double-minded , caught between faith and fear, and she referenced James 1:8, wondering if her anxiety might disqualify her from receiving what she was praying for. That’s when the Holy Spirit gave me what I can only describe as a divine download:
“This isn’t just anxiety. This is a wrestle with believing that God’s goodness remains regardless of the outcome.”
What James Really Means by “Double-Minded”
James 1:5–8 tells us that if we lack wisdom, we can ask our generous God, who gives freely. But it also warns us not to waver and not to have “divided loyalty.”
That doesn’t mean we can never doubt or feel afraid. It means we’re invited to trust God’s character even when the outcome is uncertain. If you pray with a trembling heart, unsure of what’s next, that doesn’t mean you lack faith. It means you’re human. We crave control and stability, and when past or current trauma, mental health symptoms, or deep disappointment enter the picture, uncertainty feels unbearable. But I don’t think James is rebuking that kind of struggle. He’s redirecting our faith.
Not toward what we want God to do, but toward who God is.
Faith Isn’t Certainty in the Outcome — It’s Confidence in God’s Character
Praying in faith isn’t about being 100% convinced that what you’re asking for will happen. It’s about being 100% convinced that God is who He says He is, no matter what happens.
That’s the heart of steadfast faith. It’s saying:
“Lord, I believe You can. But even if You don’t, I’ll still believe You’re good.”
Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who stood before King Nebuchadnezzar and declared, “Our God can deliver us… but even if He doesn’t, we will not bow.” (Daniel 3:16 -25)
Their loyalty wasn’t divided between faith and fear. It was anchored in who God was even if their story didn’t end the way they hoped.
When Your Prayers Feel Unanswered
If you’re wrestling with fear, disappointment, or confusion in prayer, take heart. God is not rebuking you for feeling anxious or weary. He’s inviting you deeper into trust, not in the what, but in the Who. Yes, you may feel disappointed, discouraged, or even crushed when things don’t go your way. Scripture is full of people who did — David, Job, Jeremiah, even Jesus in Gethsemane. But all of them ultimately found their peace not in what God did, but in who He was in the middle of it.
Even If He Doesn’t…
If you’re feeling “double-minded” today, maybe it’s not a lack of faith — maybe it’s an opportunity to anchor that faith deeper.
Pray this with me:
“God, I believe this opportunity, this relationship, this healing could be Your will, and I’m asking boldly. But even if it doesn’t happen, remind me that Your goodness and faithfulness never change.”
Because true faith doesn’t just believe for outcomes. It believes for presence. And the God who meets you in the fire is still the God who saves.
