Here is a four-step experiment for you to try sometime that will be fun and easy.
The danger of drifting is that it isn’t limited to the physical realm. We can drift spiritually too. That’s why the Hebrew writer issued this warning, “It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off” (Hebrews 2:1, The Message).
Here are some facts we should know about drifting:
Common signs of drifting spiritually include:
So, are you drifting? I ask you to consider the question because drifting is serious business.
As D.A. Carson wrote in Christianity Today, “People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to the Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.”
There is one remedy against drifting and only one – just keep rowing! It works every time. To keep from drifting, intentionally pursue God. Stay focused and committed. Keep doing the right things and rather than drifting off into spiritual oblivion, you will arrive at the right destination.
Pastor Todd Weston
- Step #1 – go to the beach (I told you this was going to be fun!)
- Step #2 – go out about fifty yards into the water and get on one of those inflatable lounge floats people normally use in swimming pools.
- Step #3 – fix your position with an object on the beach, then close your eyes and relax for about thirty-minutes (be sure to apply plenty of sunblock).
- Step #4 – after about a half-hour of floating, open your eyes and try to figure out where in the world you are!
The danger of drifting is that it isn’t limited to the physical realm. We can drift spiritually too. That’s why the Hebrew writer issued this warning, “It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off” (Hebrews 2:1, The Message).
Here are some facts we should know about drifting:
- Drifting requires no effort – just do nothing and the process of drifting will begin.
- Drifting is an unconscious process – you’re not even aware that it’s happening.
- Drifting happens quietly and gradually – no big fanfare, but deadly all the same.
- You never drift upstream or against the tide – you go where the current takes you.
- The speed downstream increases – the farther you drift, the faster you drift.
Common signs of drifting spiritually include:
- Diminished desire for God – we stop praying, reading the Bible, and worshiping.
- Diminished desire to be with God’s people – church attendance becomes low priority.
- Diminished desire to serve in ministry – we bail out.
- Increased desire for worldly things – we trade the spiritual for the carnal.
So, are you drifting? I ask you to consider the question because drifting is serious business.
As D.A. Carson wrote in Christianity Today, “People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to the Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.”
There is one remedy against drifting and only one – just keep rowing! It works every time. To keep from drifting, intentionally pursue God. Stay focused and committed. Keep doing the right things and rather than drifting off into spiritual oblivion, you will arrive at the right destination.
Pastor Todd Weston
