I have an adorable 19-month-old granddaughter. She loves to walk. Give Hadley a long hallway or sidewalk and she is the happiest of campers. If we let her, Hadley would stroll down that sidewalk for a long time, saying what she usually says when she’s going on a walk,
“walking, walking, walking.”
Where is she going?
How long will it take to get there?
Hadley does not know and she does not care.
Hadley is aimless.
Did you know that we can be aimless in our spiritual lives? The Bible calls this “drifting”.
What Is Spiritual Drift?
Spiritual drift is what happens when we slowly, almost imperceptibly, begin to move away from truth. It rarely happens in dramatic rebellion.
More often, it happens quietly.
The book of Hebrews was written to encourage and warn Jewish believers who were on the brink of going back to the Law; to following a set of religious rules instead of living in God’s grace.
Hebrews has 5 warnings to these believers, and to us.
The first one is found in Heb 2:1
Hebrews 2:1: “We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (ESV) The Message says, “We must keep a firm grip.” The Amplified says, “We must pay much closer attention than ever… so that we do not (in any way) drift away from truth.”
And they won’t drift if they pay much closer attention to what they had heard.
Hebrews 2:1 Meaning — “Pay Much Closer Attention”
What had they heard? They had heard divine truth spoken by Jesus.
God is now speaking to us through His Son. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our Fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, . . . “
Right away, the author begins to compare Jesus to all the other messengers the Hebrews had heard: prophets (prophets were people who proclaimed God’s truth), sometimes in dreams, sometimes through angels.
Hebrews 1:2, “but in these last days” God sent His Son to speak to us about God, show us what God is like, what we’re like and why we desperately need His Son. Not only does God speak through Jesus, Jesus is God’s very own Word. And, according to Hebrews, Jesus is God’sbest and last Word to us.
John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God”. John 1:14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Paying Much Closer Attention to God’s Word to Avoid Spiritual Drift
The Bible is God’s very words that He breathed out.
We dare not ignore it.
We must pay “much closer attention”.
To pay attention means “to hold the mind towards”; adhere to. From a commentary:
Deliberate attentiveness means to listen carefully, continually rehearse what we have heard and let it govern our lives. This deliberate attentiveness guards us from the quiet but deadly danger of
spiritual drift. Staying moored to the unchanging Word keeps us steadfast and fruitful.
What Does It Mean to Drift?
Websters defines “drift” as “to flow by”; “carelessly pass”.
Don’t treat the Word of God carelessly or casually.
Jesus often said, “He who has ears, let him hear.”
Revelation 1:3, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”
One of the definitions in the Greek for “hear” is “hear with the ear of the mind.”
Hear with the goal of understanding.
Jesus says in Luke 8 that if we listen to Jesus’ teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who don’t listen, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.
I need to cultivate a responsive heart when I “hear” God’s Word and act on its truth.
God rewards my consistent obedience with more understanding.
Maybe, just maybe, the reason I don’t understand more of the Word is not because the words are too difficult or because the biblical culture was so different than ours, but that I am not obeying what I read.
The Bible is God’s very words that He breathed out.
We dare not ignore it. We must pay “much closer attention”.
To pay attention means “to hold the mind towards”; adhere to. From a commentary:
“Deliberate attentiveness means to listen carefully, continually rehese what we have heard and let it govern our lives. This deliberate attentiveness guards us from the quiet but deadly danger of spiritual drift. Staying moored to the unchanging Word keeps us steadfast and fruitful.”
The Danger of Small Degrees of Spiritual Drift
In preparation for this devotional, I read about what happens when a plane or ship drifts.
If a plane is off by one degree, one degree, at the beginning of a trip, it’s barely noticeable. At first.
But the slightest navigational error magnifies over long journeys.
A plane leaves LA, flying direct to Rome, Italy. The flight will take about 12 hours if the plane goes in a straight line.
But if the nose of the plane is pointed just one degree off course to the south, it might land in Slovenia or Austria!
And we often don’t notice the drift until we’re wildly off course and it takes incredible power and time to get back on course.
But sometimes it’s too late.
I read about a plane that had faulty navigational devices and they got off course 2 degrees and tragically crashed.
We, my friends, do not have a faulty navigational device!
Jesus Is Our Sure and Steadfast Anchor (Hebrews 6:19)
So how do we not drift? Just like a fisherman out on a body of water who drops anchor so he can stay put, we need an anchor in order not to drift. Our anchor:
Hebrews 6:19 “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf. . . Our anchor is found in Jesus being God’s Word made flesh.
How to Stop Spiritual Drift: Anchoring Practices
⚓️ Our anchoring practices:
- Give increasing attention to God’s Word. Proverbs 2 is full of action verbs concerning the Word: treasure up, make your ear attentive, incline your heart, call out for insight, raise your voice for understanding, seek it like silver, search for it as for hidden treasure. There are treasures in the Word. Hunt for them. Memorize and meditate on the Word. “Listen”, including words that describe listen, shows up 24 times in the book of Proverbs.
- Stay in fellowship with other believers, with those who will tell you when you’re drifting. We have a dear friend who stopped going to church. Nobody knows why, not even his wife. He watches “church” online. I told Jim that that’s not attending church. I also told him he was being disobedient. He has drifted. And I fear for him.
Do Not Become a Drift Statistic
I close with 2 verses from Proverbs:
Proverbs 4:5, “Get wisdom, get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.”
Proverbs 4:13, “Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.”
I don’t want to be a “spiritual drift statistic”.
When I am driving long distances sometimes a little message shows up on my dash:”Driver Attention Low”. And there is a picture of a coffee cup with steam lines coming up from the cup.
I need a message like that when I start to drift.
I need the Holy Spirit to convict me through the Word and I need fellow believers who are observant and brave enough to tell me:
Driver Attention Low. ☕️ 📖
Helpful Resources:
Not sure how to begin studying the Bible?
We think you’ll love The EASY Bible Study Method — a simple, practical guide that teaches you how to thoughtfully and thoroughly read Scripture using four EASY steps. It’s designed to help you move from overwhelmed to confident in your time with God’s Word.
Having a hard time getting back into church?
Maybe you’ve experienced what many call “church hurt.” If that’s you, we gently encourage you to listen to this Coffee and Bible Time podcast episode with Lina AbuJamra on Wrestling with God & Healing Church Hurt. It’s an honest and hope-filled conversation about pain, faith, and finding your way back.
Parting Words:
Don’t give up.
Don’t drift.
Stay anchored.
We are rooting for you to finish well, to grow deep roots, and to walk closely with Jesus. And by God’s grace, you can.
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