“People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith.” D.A. Carson

 

Though we do not want to admit it, you and I have a tendency to gravitate toward things that are not beneficial for us and drift away from the One who is. A multitude of things grab our attention so easily and cause us to lose sight of the Lord.

In college, I am finding that this is relevant every day of the week. As I walk to class there are campaigns for events that make me cringe, fliers passed out for parties that won’t be remembered the next week, and invitations to partake in things that I know do not honor the Lord. Sometimes it is a fight to pass on the opportunities presented to me because in my sinful nature I am drawn to drift.

“He knows this about us already, yet loves us unconditionally. Our continuous wanderings lead us toward the world, but the Lord offers Himself as our refuge.”

The scary thing about drifting is that it’s a slow process and one that is not easily noticed until you have made it far from where you once were. One compromise leads to another, and before you know it you have wandered such a great distance that you are unsure of how to return. Thankfully, we don’t surprise God in our urge to fall away from Him. He knows this about us already, yet loves us unconditionally. Our continuous wanderings lead us toward the world, but the Lord offers Himself as our refuge. We look for satisfaction in things that are worthless, yet He reminds us that He is the only One who can truly quench our thirst. We place our hope in things that will fade away and even still, He promises to be our true source of hope.

All too often, I find myself running from the Lord and doubting His promises. When I recognize this drifting, I have to recognize that what is pulling my attention away from the Lord is not worth taking my eyes off of Him. What He has in store for me is better than anything I could come up with myself; I have to trust that His promises are true and that Jesus is worth holding onto. When I run, He still pursues me and promises to love me despite my disobedience and doubt.

“I must frequently put into practice the act of waiting patiently for God to bring about His promises in His time.”

It seems at times that the Lord is not following through with His promises. There have been many times that I have wrongly believed this lie and found myself drifting quickly from Him, yet every time He proves Himself true. I must frequently put into practice the act of waiting patiently for God to bring about His promises in His time. God is working in the waiting and He who promised is faithful.

While I am blown off course, He is my anchor. When the wind of the world picks up my sails, He holds me secure. Even in the safety of a harbor, a ship needs an anchor to prevent it from drifting. Whether we are in the midst of a storm in life or making our way through calm waters, we need to be secured to prevent our drifting.

The Lord is a sure and steadfast anchor for the soul and those who put their hope in Him will not be put to shame.