We sat together on the couch and watched the baseball game. I felt pretty good. Then, out of the blue, terrible symptoms surged through my body, leaving me heartsick and discouraged once again. How long, O Lord, how long until You come for me?
Though God welcomes our lament, I realized that these surging, scary neurological symptoms have become the undertow that pulls me away from my place of peace, from that place where I’m firmly anchored in the goodness of God. I know in my heart and in my head that God is good. So, I must not live at the mercy of symptoms I cannot control. I’m called to live in the perpetual mercies of God.
I knew I needed to shore up my faith and drop the anchor the next time symptoms decided to surge. My hope is in God. He has saved me. He’s coming for me. And one day, He’ll wipe away every tear from our eyes.
This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
There are countless ways to drift and just as many reasons we drift.
Years ago, we were in a life group with several couples, including a pastor and his wife. He was the picture of perfection. Perfect house. Perfect family. Perfect role at a great church. But then he drifted. He had an affair with a staff member, which devastated many of us. One day, as he sorted through the wreckage, he paid us a visit. He humbly opened his hands and said, “Is there anything you want to ask me? Anything you want to say to me?” His humility and brokenness moved me deeply.
With tears in my eyes (not an ounce of condemnation in my heart, but definitely a measure of fear), I pleaded with him, “How did this happen?” He leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. His lips quivered with regret, and he said, “I kept changing the rules. A little at a time.”
We drift when we’re tired, wearied in waiting, distracted by life, or when we’re disappointed with God. We drift when we forget about God’s goodness and when we over-estimate sin’s power to satisfy us.
Recently on Susie Larson Live, Christine Caine joined me to talk about her new book, “How Did I Get Here?” In it, she writes:
“We don’t drift because we aren’t strong or haven’t walked with Christ for many years. It just happens. But once it does, if we don’t look up and check our markers, we will be taken places we never wanted to go—emotionally, physically, relationally, or spiritually. There is no aspect of our lives that is immune from drifting and no single person who is not prone to drift.”
So, how do we keep from drifting? We keep our eyes on Jesus. We keep our hearts engaged with His purposes. We stay in fellowship with other believers. And we stay daily engaged with His Word. Staying the course isn’t about continually doing great things for God. It’s about honestly walking intimately with God and giving Him full permission to correct and redirect, to guide and provide. He promises to get us safely home.
God’s will for you will always be your best-case scenario.
So, we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.