Undistracted Devotion
Written by Sarah Ann E.
Most of us are single without any prospects, while others of us have prospects in sight. We are not married; therefore, we are not tied down to a husband and the complete care of running a home. We have a freedom that married ladies do not have. Should we sit around and be sad that we are not married? We cannot, although it is so easy to do. Paul encourages us in I Corinthians chapter 7 to serve our Lord while single.
“But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but the one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.” (I Corinthians 7:32-35).
I had read these verses numerous times, but when I heard it read on January 11th, the Lord showed it to me in a new light. My Lord wants me to be focused on pleasing HIM, but He wants my undistracted devotion to Him. The Lord showed me that He is jealous for my love while I am single!!! Jeremiah 31:3 states, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Our Lord loves us very much and He longs to have our love in return. He longs to have ALL of my devotion. The last phrase of verse 35 means, “to sit constantly by, devoted to the Lord, without distraction or cares.”
Can we say that we have undistracted devotion to our Lord? Or are there things in your life that have priority over your Lord? No matter if we are single or not, our Lord must have first place in our life. We must have great devotion to our Lord, but a married lady has distractions in her life. Her husband will need his breakfast made in the morning, and then her children wake up. If she does not have her time with the Lord before they wake up, then she will be constantly interrupted by “MOMMY....”
What thing or person in our life has more importance than our Lord? Is there something we would much rather be doing than having our devotions each day? How are we spending our time outside our devotions? Do we consume our time in just having fun? Or do we devote our time to serving our Lord and the people that the Lord has placed in our life?
When I was in high school, I had the privilege of serving on the mission field, at a Christian radio station and a small church for three years. I was an announcer at the radio station, assisted in producing a children’s program, and helped in little things from repairing tapes to cleaning bathrooms! At church, I taught Sunday School, played the piano, and cleaned. I greatly enjoyed serving my Lord and the people in the place that the Lord put us.
When I graduated from high school, we came back from the field and ended up staying in the States due to health problems in our family. I desired to continue to minister to others, but did not know what to do. I began to ask the Lord what He wanted me to do. While I was on the mission field, I received a magazine for young ladies called “Kings Daughters.” I know several of you who received that too. This magazine was just about the only source of spiritual encouragement that I received on my level. Before we came back to the States, they closed that magazine, and I was greatly disappointed. I began looking for another ladies magazine, but didn’t find anything like “Kings Daughers.” One of my friends that received “Kings Daughters” decided to start her own magazine, but it was geared towards young wives and mothers, because that was what she was! I longed for a magazine for singles, but I could not find one specifically for singles. Then the Lord laid it upon my heart to start planning my own magazine and see what others thought of the idea. Well, the ideas started to fall into place and my family and friends were all for it. Hence, LIW began at the beginning of 2005!!!
LIW has been the ministry the Lord wanted me to dig my hands into! I am very thankful that I obeyed His leadings to begin it! I now have the privilege of ministering to each one of you! I have used my singleness as an advantage to serve other ladies who struggle too. In all seriousness, I could easily turn LIW into a full-time ministry. There is so much to do and other things I wish I could do. But we are what the Lord wants us to be right now!!! What LIW is today is because of what the Lord did through me!
I try to be involved in ministries at my church, as much as my health allows me. I greatly enjoy singing in the soprano section in our choir each Sunday and I am starting to work again in the nursery. I seek to take advantage of not having a family to care for, and in turn seek to care for the family of God!
Let us each look at our singleness from God’s perspective. When we look at it from our perspective, we can get very discouraged and even depressed because “everyone is getting married and not me.” Our Lord has a reason for us being single right now. “No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalms 84:11). May we each strive to take our focus off our self and having pity parties every night, to turn to look at others and serve them in the Lord.
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This page was last modified on Thursday, September 02, 2010