Single Mindedness Ezekiel 11:19-20

To be a Buckeye football player requires year-round single-mindedness. There is winter weight training, spring drills, the dreaded late summer two-a-day drills followed by fall weekly practice. Then if you are good enough, you get to play in 12 games or more. But it takes single-mindedness.

Are you single-minded in your faith? James talks about this. "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double minded and unstable in all they do."

James is talking about perseverance in trials. "Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything". The context of Ezekiel is that the Israelites have been in exile. They have been in constant trials and temptations. They have lived in a country that worships different gods and has different values. For Christians, that doesn’t sound all that different from our world today.

What are the gods of our culture? The list is endless: career, material possessions, status, and relationships just to mention a few. There are so many distractions in our world. There are so many ways for us to not be single-minded. What can we do to keep on track?

The first thing is to remember the promises of the Sovereign Lord. In Ezekiel He promised the Israelites, "I will gather you from the nations. I will bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered. I will give you back the land of Israel. I will give you an undivided heart". Are there not promises as life-changing as these for those who follow Jesus today?

Then what do you need to do? Ezekiel wrote, "They will return and remove all its vile images and idols". Our sinful nature makes it hard for us to do that – to remove the idols from our heart. James says to ask the Lord, "who gives generously to all without finding fault".

God doesn’t judge us. God wants to give us good gifts generously. In fact in Ezekiel, God promises, "Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God". Isn’t that what we need and want?

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