Are You Drifting
I was on a pontoon boat lake last week. The boat had no anchor. When I found a nice cove, the engine was shut off and the boat was allowed to drift. I noticed that I needed to constantly be mindful of the “drifting” as hazards were abundant. There is this passage in 2 Peter 3:17-18 that warns us not to be carried away with the error of “lawless” people. Why? Because we will lose our stability. James refers to this truth as well in chapter 1 verses 6-8. It is easy to drift into sin and to be deceived if we do not have an anchor. Our anchor of course is the Lord. He holds us fast, but He will allow us to drift if we so choose.
Are you drifting? Have you let go of your anchor? No matter how far away from God you may have drifted, you’re always welcome back. That is the lesson from Jesus’ parable about the prodigal son, the foolish boy who followed a pleasure-filled drift to ruin before re-starting that spiritual engine and returning to his anchor to find redemption. (Luke 15:11-32). Perhaps ruin has not come to you, but you know that your heart has grown cool to the things of God. Whatever your drifting story, make this the day that you point yourself back to the Lord.
As with any sin, the first motion toward getting back on course is to acknowledge that you have drifted away from the Lord. Then you confess and repent, which is like turning the engine back on and going in the opposite direction…away from the hazards along the way. If you need a simple strategy…before you step out of bed in the morning, commit to holding fast to the anchor. Give yourself to Him. When something comes up that runs counter to His plan for you, and you consider drifting toward it, the Holy Spirit will remind you that you are on a path of destruction. Turn the boat around and go full speed in the opposite direction.
Peter gave the warning to be on guard against attitudes and ideas that would drift you away from truth. We accomplish this by meditating on Scripture, praying and living obediently. INTENTIONALLY practicing these spiritual disciplines keeps on the right course.
