The Single-Minded Worshipper
Facing fear, doubt and instability to discover sincere worship.
Being single-minded can be regarded both positively and negatively. On the one hand, being dedicated, resolute, steadfast; aren't half-bad qualities. But spin it the other way - stubborn, obsessed, inflexible, fanatical - and the magic-eye refocusses into something different altogether to see a fundamentalist or zealot. These characteristics are perhaps generally less well-received.
Many parents would seek to instil the former traits and iron out the latter in their children. There are obvious examples of role models who exhibit the stubborn, obsessive personalities, but to my mind many of these are lauded or even worshipped after they achieve success - characters like; Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos.
My conviction is that while the world tells us that stubborn one-sided fanatical obsession is generally a bad thing (unless it somehow makes you loads of money), the bible shows we should embrace single-mindedness, provided that the object of our obsession is Jesus.
Love God - completely
The most important commandment is this:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
(Matthew 22:36 NIV)
All your heart, soul and mind. That sounds pretty full-on, maybe even a bit... obsessed? But this is the heart of what it means to worship God: to love him completely.
What gets in the way of a complete expression of love towards God? Doubt.
Be stable
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
(James 1:5-8 ESV)
James says that double-mindedness or doubting makes you unstable. When Jesus called Peter from the water, he walked on water too: until he began to doubt, and started to sink. Peter was more afraid of the wind than he was of Jesus.
Put your fear in the right place
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
(Proverbs 9:10 ESV)
James says that we should ask for wisdom and not doubt God.
Proverbs says that wisdom begins with the fear of God.
While it may be possible to fear God and to doubt God at the same time, doubt might rather be a symptom of a lack of fearing God.
The opposite of fear of God is probably fear of man (worrying about what others think, making others happy). Rather than giving all the respect, fear and awe to the creator, we place it on the created being instead. It's an insult to God, and I do it ALL THE TIME.
Fear of people leads to hypocrisy, fickle faith, and insincere worship. It leads to Christians chasing after worldly acclaim for their expressions of love towards God. It gets us into all sorts of situations and prevents us from living our lives with God at the centre. Instead...
Be flinty (like Jesus)
Jesus (the exact representation of God's being) demonstrated single-mindedness throughout his time on Earth. Everything he did was perfectly in line with God's will. As Isaiah prophesied:
...therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
(Isaiah 50:7 ESV)
Jesus ‘set his face like flint’ towards the cross. He wasn't moved by fear of those around him or the extraordinary suffering he was about to face, but instead, he was stubbornly, immovably, fanatically obsessed about doing the will of the Father, to save us.
Today, let’s follow that example of single-mindedness in your worship of God: fear him wholeheartedly, and don't allow the waves, wind or a cynical society to distract you away. I believe you'll be rewarded with purer faith, truer worship and the beginning of wisdom.
Zealot
noun A person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals.