Are You Drifting?

My former pastor used to tell of losing his cool at home. His wife would ask if he’d forgotten to have his “quiet time” that day. He’d admit, no, he had not. It’s easy to let our time with the Lord get pushed aside for work, family, or recreation. Not to be legalistic, but if we skip this on a regular basis, we might find ourselves drifting. 

I find myself losing my cool in stressful circumstances and wondering what the problem is. Why was I so impatient and easily upset? Not always, but sometimes, it’s because I just didn’t take time to pray and get in the Word that day. If I do not spend time seeking the Lord daily, how can I know and access His power and wisdom?

Maybe you sometimes drift from God too. You found yourself spending less time, or even spending no time at all, with Him and His Word. 

What causes drifting? A big loss and pain, and we just don’t feel like spending time with Jesus. Maybe friends or family have influenced us into some questionable situations and we went along. We might drift as we follow a Christian leader we thought was solid but something just didn’t feel right and you ended up wondering what the real truth was. 

We follow Jesus primarily, not a leader, friends or family. Oswald Chambers said in The Love of God, “In following Jesus, we are not following His followers. We are not called to follow in all the footsteps of the saints, but only in so far as they followed the Lord.”

We must keep our eyes on Jesus first and foremost.

The study Experiencing God teaches that “we come to know Jesus by experience as we obey Him and He accomplishes His work through us”. This is what guides our lives daily. 

What keeps us from drifting, ending up following others, or even following our own selfish desires rather than Jesus? The truth of God’s Word. If we don’t spend time in scripture, we will not know how to recognize His voice throughout the day. We can follow someone else’s, or even our own, misguided truth, which can end up in disobedience to His truth.

If you find yourself drifting, faithfully spend time alone with Jesus and His Word. It’s not about how long you spend daily, it’s about intentionally putting your eyes and heart on Him before you jump into your responsibilities. Then it’s taking the knowledge of His continual presence in your life every other minute in the day. Finally, close the day with thanksgiving and repentance if needed. 

It won’t make your day perfect, but it will put your day into His perfect hands. 

Banner photo by Osman Rana on Unsplash