Have You Drifted Off Track?

“So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?” (Heb. 2:1-3 NLT)

When I was ten, my parents decided to take a family vacation on a houseboat on the Mississippi River. My dad had never piloted more than a rowboat before, but he did a lot of things he had never done before with a good mix of bravado and ingenuity. (I am a lot like my dad.)

One night, a storm blew in. When we woke, we looked out on a shore that didn’t resemble the one we had anchored on the night before. The anchor hadn’t held, and the boat had drifted down the river—how far, we had no idea. Being lost on the Mighty Mississippi probably scared even my dad, but he didn’t let on.

Strong rivers aren’t the only things in life that cause us to drift. Drifting, by definition, is gradual. No one knows quite when it begins. We don’t notice the current flowing around us any differently. When we come to rest on an unfamiliar shoreline, we wonder how we got there and what choices we made to put us in a place we didn’t want to go.

We don’t remember pulling up the anchor, or possibly not setting it correctly in the first place, but we definitely are not where we started.

If someone or something drifts into a situation, they get into that situation in a way that is not planned or controlled. They simply weren’t paying attention. Outside forces subtly grabbed them and carried them along, singing a lullaby of oblivion all the way.

• No one plans to get into an accident while glancing at a text. It happens without noticing where the car is pointing.
• We don’t decide to max out our credit cards in one day. Purchase by purchase adds up.
• We don’t get married intending to leave. Small hurts, tiny priority shifts, unplanned glances elsewhere, and life shatters.
• People don’t stop going to church in one quick decision. It’s the work of small choices. I’m too tired. That greeter ignored me. I have work to catch up on. I don’t have time to get gas. Zoom is getting old. No one will notice.

One day we’re on course, and the next, we make one small decision that puts us off track just a tiny bit. Then we make another, and another. Next thing we know, we’re completely lost, and we honestly have no idea how it happened. Sometimes, finding ourselves in that state, we decide it’s easier to conclude that where we are is fine than try to get back to where we belong.

The author of Hebrews writes to people enduring persecution who are being tempted to abandon their new salvation and turn back to safer, easier paths that won’t get them in trouble. He or she begs the people not to start down that road. Don’t take that first small step. Don’t allow yourself to make that first excuse. If you do, one day you will look around and discover you’ve lost your way. There will be no familiar landscape of Christian community and life.

So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation?

“Drift” and “ignore” aren’t decisive action verbs. They’re more subtle. They denote carelessness and neglect.

Hebrews gives graver warnings to those who ignore their faith than to those who outright turn from it. Why? Because when we drift, we do it so slowly we don’t even know how far we are from where we need to be. We will continue to believe we’re fine when we might be approaching a waterfall.

Ignoring looks similar to drifting, but it’s different in that we make false assumptions in the beginning rather than false conclusions in the end.

• When we assume our car will run fine without regular maintenance, we eventually learn the foolishness of that decision.
• When we ignore a spouse, relying on the commitment we made once upon a time to ensure a healthy relationship, we discover the error of that judgment.
• When we neglect our faith, because we prayed a prayer and we go to church (sometimes), we invite the danger of stagnant, lifeless belief.

Both drift and neglect require us to be vigilant about our assumptions and conclusions when we see a landscape that’s changed. The writer doesn’t mean we should never doubt or question what we see in our Christian life. Small course corrections are also important to keep us on track, so questioning the appropriateness of the path is wise. Yet our anchors need to be set in the things that don’t change, and we need to set them firmly so we don’t drift, lost on a rolling river.

Scripture for Reflection

“Test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.” (1 Thess. 5:21 NLT)

“For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.” (Heb. 3:14 NLT)

“You must fear the Lord your God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in his name alone.” (Deut. 10:20 NLT)

Reach for More

Journal this week on some decisions you’ve made or are making. What steps can you take to ensure you don’t make a misstep in those decisions? What assumptions might you be making during the decision-making process? Where do you think they will lead you? If you’re artsy, draw a timeline of where you want to be and how you’ll get there with integrity in your faith.

Jill Richardson is a writer, speaker, pastor, mom of three, and author of five books. She likes to travel, grow flowers, read Tolkien, and research her next project. She believes in Jesus, grace, restoration, kindness, justice, and dark chocolate. Her passion is partnering with the next generation of faith. Jill blogs at jillmrichardson.com.

Photograph © Mitchell Kmetz, used with permission