Read below or listen to the article as read on radio by Dewunmi Afolabi-Ajani
To be ambivalent is to feel pulled in two directions at the same time—uncertain, torn between choices, unable to settle on one. It describes the restless heart that both longs for God and yet clings to the world, that desires righteousness yet still entertains sin.
Scripture gives us pictures of ambivalence. Think of Elijah on Mount Carmel saying, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). Or James warning, “The one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person…is double-minded and unstable in all they do” (James 1:6–8).
Ambivalence is not mere intellectual curiosity or thoughtful wrestling with hard questions—that kind of struggle can be healthy and lead to deeper faith. The danger lies in a divided heart that tries to serve two masters. Jesus Himself said, “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24).
The good news is that Christ calls us out of ambivalence into wholeness of devotion. The Spirit gives us a single, steadfast direction: to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Ambivalence scatters our loyalties; grace gathers them into one.
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Subscribe NowSo when you feel ambivalent, remember: the gospel does not invite you to perpetual indecision. It invites you to surrender—fully, joyfully, decisively—to Christ, in whom all wavering finds its rest.
