Drifting Away

Philosophy View of Drift

To move slowly, esp. as a result of outside forces, with no control over the direction

Biblical View of Drift

Therefore, we must pay the most careful attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away.

For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment.

How shall we escape if we ignore such great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

God also testified to it by signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Hebrews 2:1-4 NIV

One of our greatest temptations as Christians is simply to drift away from Christ. We are not actively running away, just slowly drifting along with the lazy, warm, comfortable current of the world. We must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. What is this truth we have heard? According to Hebrews 2:1

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 2:1 NIV

Christ is Lord; after fulfilling his mission on earth to pay for our sins, Jesus Christ, our risen Savior, sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God of heaven.

Being seated at the right hand of God indicates a place of equality, not subordination.

Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

Acts 2:33 KJV

For the seat is a throne around which the Angel of God worship him.

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.

Revelation 5:11KJV

Christ is supreme. Christ is, in fact, greater than the angels, greater than the greatest of people, and greater than the devil and all his emissaries. Jesus is Lord, and his word is true, so we must fall on our face and worship him.

The first-century Christians to whom the letter of Hebrews was written knew these facts yet were in danger of drifting away from the truth that they had received.

Is it really any different today; to drift away is literally “to flow by to slip away”. This phrase can be used to describe a boat drifting aimlessly, a ring slipping off a finger, or a dripping faucet (a device that controls the flow of liquid, especially water, from a pipe) losing precious water.

Once, I was reading a story of a family who had children and owned a small cabin cruiser on a lake in the middle of a beautiful English District. The mother was a bit nervous that the dinghy, attached to the cruiser, might drift away as they were moored a little away from shore. so she would thread the rope through the porthole and wrap it around her wrist. Then she would go to sleep, in effect saying, take my boat, take me.

If only we would so earnestly endeavour to stay securely moored to the truths we have learned about Christ. The warning of scriptures is clear. We must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. Hebrews 2:1 emphasises that we should carefully pay attention to what we hear so we don’t drift away.

The readers of this letter were established believers, and yet the pressure of their circumstances was such that they were willingly neglecting the basic tenets of their faith, and they began to drift away. We must be warned by their example. We need to be disciplined and pay more careful attention.

Warning Signs To Know When You Are Drifting From God

1. You are too busy to read your bible and pray, so you spend little, if any, time reading God’s Word and praying.

2. You keep mourning that you heard the gospel over and over. The gospel doesn’t affect you as it used to

3. You find excuses not to go to church, so you don’t spend much time fellowshipping with other Christians.

4. The sins that used to bother you don’t really bother you anymore.

5. You find yourself doing things that you know are wrong just because you know that you can pray about it. You find yourself quieting your conscience more frequently.

6. You keep promising yourself that you will stop, but you continue to do the wrong things.

7. You find yourself making excuses for things, for example, flirting on social media and justifying yourself.

What To Do If You Feel Disconnected From God

1. Repent of your sins and receive the wonderful, complete, free forgiveness from Christ. Christ delights to forgive drifters.

2. Continue to seek his face through prayer and fasting. Return to the things you used to do, and don’t let condemnation stop you.

3. Go to God’s Word, pray, fellowship, fight temptation and listen to the promptings of your conscience.

Don’t let yourself drift; drifting is dangerous for us as believers.

READ AND BE BLESSED