The word drifting came to my attention as I was reading Hebrews 2. The first verse of Hebrews 2:1 speaks about drifting or falling away from the truth or the word of God. “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.” One of my greatest fears during the pandemic is the thought of persons falling or drifting away from their faith. Too often during stressful and difficult times we may turn our backs on God, and sometimes it may be unintentional. We must always be on the alert so that the enemy will not influence us to live a drifting life. Departure from the faith usually comes from slow drifting.   

Let’s take a look at the word drift or drifter as it pertains to our daily living. Drift means to go through life without a plan or without direction. Imagine getting into a boat without a paddle or anchor. If the water is still, the boat will probably go nowhere or drift slowly. If you put the boat in a moving stream of water, it will flow in the direction of the stream. The boat will go down stream without any guidance or control. It will probably hit rock beds, cliffs, or whatever gets in its way. It moves without any stability. It may even crash. The protection against drifting is to have Christ as our anchor and rudder in life. “The anchor will hold us to the truth, while the rudder will guide us by the truth.” (Griffith Thomas)

If we are not careful, life will deal us a similar hand. We could find ourselves going through life drifting like a boat without a paddle. We should be able to look back over our lives and say well done my good and faithful servant. We should be able to reflect on contributions we have made to our families, communities, churches, careers, etc. Simply stated, we should be able to feel that we have made a contribution to society and a difference in the lives of others.  The question for all of us should be, did I make a difference in the lives of others or have I drifted most of my life? Yes, all of us have crashed in one way or another, but when you have the control of the paddles in the boat, you control your direction and if you crash, get another boat and keep paddling. It is better to have tried and failed than to have not tried at all.             

The first thing in life is for all of us to have a plan. As parents, we should start speaking life into our children at an early age. Maybe have conversation and give guidance on what their future will look like.

If we are not careful, drifting can lead to hopelessness, depression, anger, frustration, anxiety, and other negative emotions. I admonish all who may be reading this message to encourage and inspire others to give direction to their lives so that they may see or live life with hope, confidence, enthusiasm and boldness. Too often our young people get caught up in drifting and find themselves going down the stream without a paddle or an oar. Too many of our young black males are incarcerated because they became drifters, either by design or choice. That is not a statement of criticism or judgement, but we must do a better job in preparing our young folk. On the other hand, a person must give his life some direction and not blame others for mistakes or for accepting drifting as a part of life.       

Encourage some young person who is just drifting to get in the boat with the paddles and steer the boat in the direction you wish for it to travel. Yes, you may go through some turbulent waters, but you are still in control. You may even crash, but you get back in the boat and keep steering. Sometimes we may have to get in the boat with the drifter. Hopefully, your anchor and paddle, Jesus our Lord, is in the boat with you.   

If we are not careful, life will pass us by quickly. No one should feel as if they just drifted through life without meaning. We do not want to come to the end our lives with regrets and doubts about what could have been or should have been.  

My advice to anyone today is to live life without regrets. In other words, live life on your terms and not someone else’s. Decide what you wish to do in life and create a plan.  “It’s never too late to be the person you know you could have become.”  My advice to anyone is this, come out of your disbelief regarding self and take control of your life. Be your true self and be determined not to drift. Accept those words, I can do all things through Christ that gives me strength.  If you think you can, you can and will if you only try.

Not a sermon, just my thoughts!

Robert Earl Slade, Pastor