The day you thought would never come as a new believer has come. You thought the love in your heart would never leave. You've woken up and realized that you are failing in your faith. You don't feel the way you first did when you came to Christ.
You haven't picked up a Bible in weeks. You rarely pray, and when you do, the prayers feel empty and shallow. You are not even sure God hears you anymore. Your relationship with God is different, off. You start to feel anxious all the time and overwhelmed with spiritual things.
Coming to Christ out of darkness is the most important decision a believer can make. No other decision changes your life so drastically and completely.
The place of brokenness that most people experience causes them to leave everything and run to Christ. Your new relationship with Christ was so wonderful and fulfilling as a baby Christian that you never thought you'd ever leave this relationship. But you have.
You're not even sure what has happened. You have entered spiritual drift.
As a baby Christian, you are so excited and full of love for the Lord that you read the Bible daily, pray daily, and tell everyone about your relationship with Christ.
Everything looked new and wonderful. Hope was alive in your heart. You never felt so transformed from a life of misery to a life of wholeness in Christ.
But somehow, you are now distant.
Jesus doesn't seem as close as He used to be. The Bible is not as exciting as it was at the beginning of your relationship. You find yourself sliding back towards the old habit patterns that you left.
What happened? What changed in the life of you, the believer? What has occurred? Why is the love you once felt now feel so far away?
Spiritual drift. A spiritual infection that creeps in on a believer if they are not careful. Drift happens when you take your eyes off Him. It creeps in when you are not focused on Him and His love for you. When the world comes into focus, and that focus begins to fill your heart full of the world's cares, spiritual drift is on the horizon.
But there is a way back. Spiritual drift is not your final destination. The Christ your heart loved is still there. His promises for you are never removed. There are clear paths to restoring that first love. Drift is just a season you can recover from and get back on course.
Drift happens so slightly that we hardly even notice it until we are fully off course, like a ship drifting on the ocean. Every little bit of drift pulls it further and further off course.
Let's see how to get you reconnected.
Reconnect with His love
Guilt and shame are like handcuffs to an old life you left behind. They are familiar friends from a past life of sin and not a part of your new life in Christ. They speak and try to tell you that you can't come back to Christ. But those are lies of the past speaking.
God watched you come to Him, and He watched you drift away. But He knew you would. You need only to remember that you belong to Him. Nothing of His ever escapes His hand. He is calling out to you every day while you are away. Nothing in this life will stop Him from pursuing you. You are His beloved, and His love for you is everlasting. He wants you to know this from His Word.
"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love… grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." – Ephesians 3:17-18
God loves you, not because of who you are or what you've done. He loves you totally and completely because of who He is. You drifted because you took your eyes off Him. You looked away from Him and to the world again, yourself, your insecurities, failures, and shortcomings.
Trust His love for you again without the guilt and shame. He died for all of that. There is nothing to feel shame or guilt over. He is calling your name. Come to Him. You are established in love with Him.
Reconnect with Prayer
Prayer is a perfect way to re-establish your relationship with God. I don't mean the fancy long, drawn-out religious prayer. No, just a simple heart prayer in talking to God. Just a conversation of the heart to Him about your relationship with Him.
God knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what is on your heart. He knows the simple things of the mind and heart. Just release them to Him in prayer. Repent for drifting, going your way, leaving His safety and compassionate touch. Say it to Him in prayer in any way you need.
God will always hear your prayers and answer them when we come with faith and the real intent of our hearts. You will know in your heart that He heard you. You will sense that peace and calm that only He can bring.
Prayer is a gentle, non-threatening conversation that you have with God. Pour your heart out to Him.
Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
God hears you no matter what state you are in. Seek Him with all your heart to get back to His presence. He knows where you are spiritually, and He will hear and answer.
Reconnect with the Word
The Word of God is your anchor. It is what the entire universe, worlds, and all creation are built upon. The Word of God is the most alive book you will ever read.
Drift causes you to see it as boring or dull. But this is not so. The Bible is full of mystery and wonder. It contains stories of excitement and death. It takes you from miracles and mighty exploits of God to the very natural things of man.
The Word of God is your lifeline on how to live this life. The Bible shows us who God is. You will learn His character through the Word. You will see the revelation of Himself to His people.
The Bible shows God's holiness, faithfulness, grace, power, and love for us.
You will always see Him be the same unchanging God. That means He will never change His mind about you or His love for you. That is set. No amount of drift will change that.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 tells us that the scripture is "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness." It goes on to say that this same Word equips you and completes you for every good work.
Reconnecting with a regular habit of reading the Word of God is important because it helps you grow in maturity as a Christian. It will equip you to do the call on your life to bring Him glory and honor.
Reading the Bible is also a spiritual discipline. If you struggle and lack the desire to connect to it, ask God to give you a passion for His Word again. He will. He wants you to enjoy His book. He will help you build the time in your day to get back to a daily schedule with the Bible.
When you are drifting from the Word, you are drifting from the instruction manual for life. The Bible is the only book that is active and alive when you read it. It gives life to those who are spiritually dead. It awakens the soul to new life in Christ. It heals the broken emotions of the heart. No other book on earth has this quality or power.
It is the only book that contains all the answers you need.
Here is an interesting fact. Did you know that the book of Proverbs contains over 180 different types of people in that book of the Bible? That is a lot of answers for just about every kind of situation one may find in life.
The Bible is a book that speaks to every generation. It never changes its meaning with time. The Word of God judges all men righteously and causes us to be accountable to the everlasting God that will never fail us.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:25, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."
The Word of God is your key to absolute truth. Come back to it again with fresh eyes. See what you didn't see before through His eyes.
Reconnect with Church
The Body of Christ is special. There is not another group of people on the earth like His Body. Jesus is coming back for His bride, the body. He wants you to be a part of that.
Let me share a great scripture with you.
"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one Body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the Body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason stop being part of the Body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason stop being part of the Body. If the whole Body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole Body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the Body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." – 1 Corinthians 12:12-18
These verses are powerful because it tells us that we all belong to one body. We all belong together and need each other. The physical body is not made up of one part. It tells you and me that if one part of you hurts, all of the body hurts.
See, you are that special to God and to the Body of Christ. You are needed there; when you are not there, we all suffer. We feel the loss of your presence, love, and gifts. You are needed in whatever role or giftings you have. You are needed in His Body.
He placed you in the body for a reason. Come back to His loving body and live your part. If you are not there, the body is lacking.
Reconnect Goals
Remember this, dear friend. You are never too out of reach for God. You can never be too far gone. Drift is temporary when you have a God chasing you down and loving you back to His arms and protection.
Here are some things you can do and goals you can aspire to that will keep your connection with God strong and you growing in your faith.
Accountability partner. Find a good accountability partner or someone you can share your life struggles with. Everyone needs someone sometimes. This needs to be a person with a listening ear and heart toward you. When your old life calls, you can reach out to this person with truth and honesty and see what you can't see.
Church attendance. Get into the habit of having a regular routine on church days. Find a prayer service that meets mid-week that you can attend. Get involved in church. Make friends and find where you fit in the body.
Bible study. A weekly bible study does wonders to help you grow as a believer. There may be several different types in your church. Find one that works for you and attend. Bring paper and a Bible and take notes. You will learn more that way.
Talk with the pastor. Set up a meeting with the pastor or other spiritual leader to talk with them about your struggles. You will find that once upon a time, they had struggles too. They will help you see better how to navigate those times of drift that may come again and how to overcome them.
Devotional book. A devotional book is a great way to set a daily habit of reading the Word of God with inspiring stories of hope, love, and encouragement in your faith.
Quiet time. Quiet time with God and unplugging from the world do wonders for your spirit. Nothing is better than God speaking to you in times of calm and stillness.
Prayer walks. Prayer walks with God help you reconnect with God and with nature. Take a walk and see the wonder He created. It clears your head and heart as you walk and talk to Him.
Give up. Give up the thing or things that caused you to drift in the first place. Make a point to leave them at the feet of Jesus. Give up all sin. Let go of all distractions from people or other things.
The world. Put things of the world in their proper place. A lot can distract you, so make sure you know what those things are: work, self, lust, entertainment, success, etc.
Determination. Be determined to obey the Word of God at all costs. No matter what you face, obey in your heart the instructions of the Lord.
Finally, with each effort on your part, the drift in your soul will diminish. God will not leave you alone. You will not be defeated. He is not the kind of God who invests in you and then leaves you.
Stop the drift. Restore your faith in God today.
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