The Danger of the Drift

Sharon JaynesDealing with Your Past, God's Promises, Take Hold of the Faith You Long For, When You Don't Like Your Story 48 Comments

Last week I wrote over at Proverbs 31 Ministries. I thought you might enjoy it too! Here you go!

Sitting at the beach I watched my grandnieces, ride the waves like miniature mariners. Wade out. Ride in. Wade out. Ride in. I also noticed that the waves didn’t come straight into the shore, but at a wind-driven angle. Each time the girls rode the waves, the water carried them just a little bit to the left. Then a little more. Then a little more.

My visual of the duo became smaller and smaller as the ocean spilled them out further down the beach with each ride. They were oblivious to the potential danger of drifting away from the safety of where they began.

Finally, I walked down shore and waved them back to where our family had camped out for the day.

Like the girls subtle slow drifting, we can be happily riding the waves of everyday life, but then the one ungodly decision spills us back onto the shore a little bit left of where we started. Then the next wave of a poor decision takes us a little left of that one. Before we know it, the tide of wrong decisions has taken us from the safety of where we were planted in the truth and we are in danger of struggling to find our way back.

The writer of Hebrews warns us, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1 NIV). The Greek word for “careful attention” is prosekh’o, which means to pay attention, to give heed, to be cautious, to devote oneself. Pay attention…so that we don’t.

I’ve noticed that if I don’t pay attention to what I’m watching on TV, and view something that’s slightly offensive, I’m more likely to watch something that’s more offensive the next time. If I follow that drift, I can find myself having difficulty imagining Jesus sitting beside me on the sofa watching along.

The progression of one small temptation can lead to one wrong decision can lead to sin which takes us a bit further away from our close connection to Jesus. Then another wave of temptation can lead to another wrong decision which can lead to another sin which takes us even further away from the intimacy we crave.

But what if you find yourself already far away from where you started with Jesus. Perhaps you’ve ridden the waves of poor decisions so many times that He seems distant or far from view.

Here are two words that pull us back from the drift: repent and return. Repent means to have genuine remorse, turn away from sin, and go in the opposite direction back toward God. When we repent, God forgives. John wrote: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:1:9 NIV). And “all” means “all.”

Oh friend, I want you to envision Jesus standing on the shore of where you are right now. He’s waving for you to come back to the safety just as surely as He waved Peter to the shore after he had denied Him three times (Luke 22:54-62, John 21:1-25). Jesus is always waiting to lead us back to intimacy with Him no matter how far we’ve drifted away.

Heavenly Father, help me to recognize when I’m in danger of making decisions that could cause me to drift in my relationship with You. Thank You for standing on the shore and always welcoming me home when I repent and return. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you are thankful Jesus always welcomes us back no matter how far we’ve drifted away, leave a comment and give Him a shoutout saying “I’m so thankful! “🙌🏽 🙌🏽 🙌🏽

Digging Deeper
We’ve all drifted at some point in our lives. Perhaps some of those drifts have led to difficult chapters that you’d like to rip out of the narrative. But rather than remove them, God wants to repurpose them for good. My book, When You Don’t Like Your Story: What if Your Worst Chapters Could Become Your Greatest Victories takes you from hurt to healing to helping others with what you’ve been through. This could be just the book you need to get you back to where you want to be.

Click here to read the first chapter for FREE.

Click here to find FREE Christmas resourcesNeed a Christmas gift for a MOM on your list? Momma Moments with God and Praying for Your Child from Head to Toe: A 30-Day Guide to Powerful and Effective Scripture-Based Prayer are two reader favorites that she will refer to time-and-time again! Click here to learn more. You can even take a peek




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Comments 48

  3. I am so very grateful every day for being welcomed back Thank you Sharon for a beautiful devotion today and a Blessed Merry Christmas to you and your family

    Reply

  4. I am so thankful!!!!, yesterday I lost my job, so feeling a little anxious today, but I know with God and Jesus they will guide me back to the shore when I am safe, having faith is so important, when I feel lost and not close to God, that is when I usually feel my worst, even if I am thinking things are great, there is always that little nudge saying “come back to Jesus and God and that is the holy spirit.

    Reply

  5. He is nothing like we have ever known , I praise him for his Mercy and Grace each and every day. Thank you Jesus for your never ending love.

    Reply

  18. I am so thankful! Both of my parents have passed away. God is my go to, when I struggle, he’s my everlasting arm or shoulder to lean on, he listens when my tears flow, he’s my sounding board when I want to talk, and when I’m silent I listen. He’s my everything.

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  26. I am so thankful for Jesus and for Sharon’s messages that help me stay on course despise the distractions and stress of life

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  29. I have drifted, but I am not sure how to get back. My husband had a long battle with Vascular dementia and then died in April of this year. I have vision issues and End Stage renal disease at 53. He was my eyes, driver, help mate, etc. I keep asking why and get no answer. I can’t see God in this storm at all. It seems that I am praying to the ceiling. I ask him to reveal himself to me and to help me, but he doesn’t answer. I lost my first husband to a bad car accident when my girls were 4 and 1. I lost my second husband to colon cancer at the age of 36 and we had one son. My third to Vascular Dementia in April. I don’t understand why God is allowing all these loses of men that took care of me. It is so unfair when I see couples that have been married for decades, when the longest I have gotten was 18 years and the last 5 were really hard.

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  35. I just wanted to say that my NIV translation for Hebrews 12:1 doesn’t match with your translation of it. Mines says: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” I don’t get “drifting” from this one. I don’t mean to be nitpicking–just wanted to clarify.

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  36. I am thankful but please pray for me as I am being tempted to sleep with a young man who is in a,relationship but not married.
    I know there is no difference and I have stood my ground for a long time or since October which is when he first began flirting with me.
    I have been divorced since 2021 and unable to make connections due to a son who has autoimmunity and this man came to my home to help with a pest issue and thats when he began flirting with me.
    Please pray for me to get back on track!🙏🏻🕊🙏🏻

    Reply

  45. I’m thankful to God for being an on time God! This just described my present life, comforting and encouraging to know He is reaching out to me. Its a beautiful visualization.

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  47. I’m thankful for His faithfulness! This topic is so close to my heart. God rescued me from a series of poor choices that seemed harmless at the time but turned out to be disastrous for me but more importantly, my loved ones. It’s like the Casting Crowns song “Slow Fade”. The enemy hides the danger ahead and hopes we fall totally. I must keep vigilant, guard my heart and remain in His truth!

    Reply

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