Living The "Singleness" Life?

In Sunday's message, our guest speaker Dan Bohi reminded us of a term we find in Scripture: singleness. This singleness is not a reference to being unmarried, nor even a reference to being alone. It refers to a state of mind and heart: intense, undistracted focus on the presence and power of the living God.

As we had spent the previous four Sundays of August in a study of maintaining our hope in the face of despair, it is a blessing to see that God sent Brother Dan to reiterate this point: Keep your focus on God, and don’t allow your circumstances to shift your focus away from Him.

A question for today: Are you living your Christian life with singleness of mind and heart? Or, are you unable to focus on the Lord because you’re so distracted by your own pressures and preferences?

There are a few places in Scripture where singleness is mentioned. Below is one passage from Jeremiah 32, the chapter in which Jeremiah was instructed to buy a field in Anathoth. Even as the Babylonian king’s armies were coming to take over Israel’s lands, God was calling Jeremiah to make a prophetic move that demonstrated an undistracted focus on God’s everlasting kingdom. I pray that these verses will encourage us to continue in our pursuit of God’s presence above all other things.

Lord God, help us to pursue singleness of mind and heart.

Jeremiah 32:36-40

“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.”

All Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.