5 Things That Cause Us to Drift

Spiritually
Chris RussellPastor, Veritas Church
2015Aug 17

Several years ago a friend of mine took his wife and kids to the ocean for a week of
R&R. While they were there, they purchased a small, inflatable boat for recreational use
on the beach. One day the wife jumped in the boat and launched out into the water to
just lie back and soak in some sunshine. After what seemed like a short span of time,
she opened her eyes and realized that she was several hundred yards away from the
shore. In a panic, she screamed for help.
Only one person on the shore seemed to hear her call, and that was her husband.
When he realized her predicament, he immediately attempted to swim out to rescue her.
That did not turn out well, because he was soon in need of being rescued as well!
Fortunately the lifeguard was doing his job well that day, and he was successful in
rescuing the husband and the wife. By the time he was able to get to the wife in the raft,
they were nearly a half mile from the shore.
As I have thought about that experience over the years, it has often made me think
about how Christians often drift away from the Lord spiritually. It really doesnt take
much time at all to drift so far from the shore spiritually that one can scarcely even see
the land anymore.
As a pastor for the past couple decades, I have noted several key things that tend to
cause Christians to drift away from God. Here are five of them:
SEE ALSO: Bible Verses and Quotes to Help You Overcome the Fear of Death
1) An Out-of-Control Schedule.
Ephesians 5:16
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
One of Satans greatest weapons against our generation seems to be his ability to make
good people busier than ever before. We so often sacrifice the best things in
life by spending time doing things that are just pretty good.
If you desire to walk closely with God, you will absolutely, necessarily have to begin by
taking a close look at your calendar. It is likely that you are currently doing too much.
And it is also likely that your overly hectic schedule is affecting your relationship with
God. So take out your pruning shears and begin to cut out any activities you can that
will allow you to focus more time on your relationship with your Creator.
SEE ALSO: 3 Truths to Remember When You Think God is Disappointed in You
2) Misplaced Affections
1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him.
Be careful not to set your heart on things that really dont matter. I cannot tell you how
many times I have seen good people lured away from church life because they have
fallen in love with things or activities that have no eternal merit. For example, childrens
sports can certainly be a thrilling activity for your kids to pursue. But if those sports
begin to adversely affect the spiritual involvement and development of your family, then
pull the plug immediately.
3) Discouragement
SEE ALSO: 4 Characteristics of the Spiritually Mature Christian
During the past couple decades that I have served as a pastor, I have often watched
Satan using his weapon of discouragement to drag people away from spiritual activities.
I have seen it many more times than I can number.
When the trials of life cause a person to become discouraged, he often begins focusing
on those problems and takes his eyes off of Christ. It reminds me of when Peter walked
on the water. He did great until he took his eyes off of Jesus and began looking at the
waves beneath him and the clouds above him.
It is important for you to know that when lifes clouds grow dark and your trials become
fierce, that is the time to run TO Jesus and not FROM Him.
4) Abundance
SEE ALSO: 6 Powerful Truths from the Life of John the Baptist That Offer Hope
for Today
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have
wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
We Americans are so fat with our own prosperity that we often make wealth our god and
not the true King of heaven. This has also been a recurring theme throughout the entire
Bible. People struggle, God blesses them, they become prosperous, and then they
depart from God. Ironic, isnt it?
The chances are great that you probably do not feel like you are prosperous. But the
reality is that nearly all Americans are extremely blessed and have more abundance
than the vast majority of the population of the planet. If you are an American, you are
most likely already a One-Percenter (wealthier than 99% of the worlds population).
People of abundance often choose recreation over worship. Why go to church if you
could be out golfing, boating, camping, or going to movies or sporting events?
SEE ALSO: 3 Ways You Can Overcome the Fears in Your Past
Satan wants us to be prosperous, because our prosperity and abundance often lure us
away from our Creator.
5) Parasitic Sins
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us,
Many people begin to drift away from God, because they have sins in their lives that
cause them to feel guilt when they show up at church. And they feel reluctant to pray or
read their Bible when they know they have these issues in their lives.
SEE ALSO: 6 Things You Can Do to Hear the Voice of God
Recently, I stumbled upon the most revolting video Ive ever seen (through my
Facebook news feed). The video showed an eye surgeon removing a parasite from a
human eye. I wont go into detail. That brief description alone is enough to send chills
down the spines of many. All I can say is that the video was even worse than what
youre thinking right now!
When I watched that video, it dawned on me that many people have sins in their lives
that are damaging them just like parasites in ones body. And those sins will almost
certainly affect your spiritual vision.
The solution here is not to run/drift from God. The key is to confess your sin to God who
will restore you and make you whole again (1 John 1:9)!
How have you done in your journey with God over the past year or the past few
months? Have you drifted? Now is the time to return. Call out to God before you are so
far from the shore than you lose all sense of spiritual direction.