Drift: Understanding the Danger of Wandering from God's Purpose

Wandering or coasting along is to not understand the potential God sees in us. Life is God's gift to us; what we do with it is our gift to God (as expressed in the world). It is characterized as a lack of purpose or goal, by not being motivated. Drifting occurs when we lose sight of our divine calling and allow ourselves to be carried along by circumstances rather than intentionally pursuing God's plan for our lives. This subtle departure from purpose can happen gradually, often unnoticed until we find ourselves far from where God intended us to be.

Drifting from Our Mission

As individuals, churches or Christian organisations we can experience this veering from our original 'mission' purpose, a drift away from the established goals. A subtle shift occurs from being single-minded with a clearly focused objective to being distracted, inefficient and off target.

Remain true to the mission

As individual believers and churches, the core foundation of our identity and ministry should be Christ and the mandate He gave to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mt 28:19-20). Christ is to be centre of our lives and our calling develops from that basis (Mk 12:30). It is beneficial to identify and write down the specific goals and regularly revisit them to ensure this is being followed as the gradual departure from an intended course happens slowly, and a huge shift can happen before we realize what is going on. Accountability is beneficial as none are exempt from blind spots.

Causes of Drift

In our individual lives, disappointment with God, peer pressure, other priorities (including being a workaholic), failing to attend to spiritual disciplines and being self-focused means we spend less time with God and His Word and more time engaged in this world's distractions. We are to "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously" maintaining a close connection to Christ (Mt 6:33; Jn 15:4-5).

While with a church or organisation this can be caused by failing to prioritize the original mission statement, following shifting values of society, conceding to the values of major donors, or choosing to soften the Bible's message. It requires determination to walk consistently with Christ; it is only live fish which swim against the current.

The Danger of Drifting

The hope we have in an unchanging God provides anchor (Mal 3:6; Heb 6:19). Yet the Bible warns us, "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away" (Heb 2:1). Through neglect and inattention, we can slip our moorings and drift away from what has been an anchor in life, now being at the mercy of the prevailing currents with no resistance or effort made to remedy the situation, with shipwreck on the rocks of life a strong possibility.

It takes no effort to drift

Be diligent to keep an eye on the unmovable markers or reference points (such as God's Word and the principles it contains) to ensure you are not going astray by yielding to the influences of the world. We constantly need to ask, do I allow time and life to drift by, spending it on relatively unprofitable things, rather than spending it on eternal matters? The promise of God is, "Return to me, and I will return to you" (Mal 3:7).

Reflection and Application:

What areas of your life might be drifting from God's intended purpose?
Are you regularly reviewing your spiritual goals and mission?
Who holds you accountable to stay on course?
What distractions are pulling you away from your anchor in Christ?