Feeling Far from God? Understanding Spiritual Drift and Steps to Reconnect
Have you ever been floating in the ocean or on a paddleboard and suddenly felt a moment of panic when the shoreline became blurry or hard to see?
Drifting is a subtle and deceptive process.
One moment, you’re on the shoreline with children splashing around you and your feet touching the ocean floor; the next, you find yourself alone in calm, deep waters, far from the shore.
The same kind of drifting can quietly happen in our spiritual lives.
Daily bible reading is skipped in favor of the latest news and social updates.
Church attendance becomes less of a priority.
We tell ourselves that God is always with us, and perhaps He, like us, might prefer to be out in nature or at a child’s ballgame.
A genuine relationship with God is replaced by religious debates or intellectual discussions.
Drifting happens, subtly but suddenly.
You may have heard it said that Satan has no new tricks.
FOMO (fear of missing out) is one of Satan’s greatest deceptions, and it works time and again. Eve, with all of Eden at her disposal, fell for it: one tree she couldn’t touch, one lie that gave her FOMO. The relationship she had with God and her husband, Adam, was forever changed with one bite.
Let’s be smarter than Eve. Let’s not fall for the lie that there’s something outside of our relationship with God that is more worthy of our time and devotion.
Drifting and deception go hand in hand.
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:7-8 ESV
We deceive ourselves when we base decisions on temporary fulfillment from someone or something else. It’s easy to believe the lie that one small compromise won’t affect our relationship with God. Maybe it won’t, but why risk stepping onto a slippery slope?
When you genuinely love someone, you avoid choices that create distance in the relationship.
Let’s choose to begin again.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:15 ESV
The God of the universe, of galaxies we have yet to discover, loves you and me. He held nothing back in demonstrating His love. His love is pure, with no hidden agenda or ulterior motives.
That’s not a love you are going to find anywhere else or in anyone else.
When God becomes personal to us, not just a religious concept, when we read His love letter (the Bible) or worship with others, it becomes a joy, not an obligation. In a genuine love relationship, there are no have-tos, only want-tos.
If we find ourselves drifting, God, because of His great love for us, will help us get back in right relationship with Him.
But let’s not put His love and mercy to the test, let’s stay in close fellowship with God.
