Don’t Drift from Your Father

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and welcome to Joni and Friends! I remember one lazy summer day when I was just a little girl, riding the gentle waves along Bethany Beach on my rubber raft. My raft was bound together alongside my daddy’s, and I liked feeling that raft of mine bump up against his, with the warm sun and the rocking motion of the waves. In fact one time, Daddy and I fell asleep. And when a giant swell woke us up, we raised our heads and – oh, my goodness, we were way down the beach from where we started.  

Daddy laughed, but I was never so glad our rafts were tied together. Without my father, it would’ve been scary. After all, it was a strong current that had caught and carried us. I looked back way up to where our towels were. I didn’t realize how far I had drifted away until I saw our umbrella way up the beach. 

Thankfully I was never in trouble, though. Daddy had been with me all along. But it goes to show, drifting can be dangerous. Always and always there are currents pulling at us. Always we are swimming upstream, against the tide. Always there is the temptation to drift, and we never realize how far we are carried away until we see Christ. Until we see the others from whom we have parted. It’s possible for any of us to drift spiritually or morally. No one is immune. Think of the powerful currents in your own life that would carry you along unless you kept at the oars to control the direction. There’s the current of social opinion, or personal desire, or of doing things you want to do. Lust is a powerful undertow. Being materialistic is a relentless tug. 

It’s interesting – I can look back on my own life and see the times I drifted away from the Lord. Most of them are choices that were pretty immoral or being lazy about prayer and the Bible. But thankfully, my Father in heaven was always there, even in the darkest moments, even when I allowed myself to drift away. 

It’s why Hebrews 2 has such an important verse for these days. It says there, “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” Friend, in our cultural climate it is so easy to drift, especially in the area of pure thinking and living. Like that saying goes – you know you sow a thought and you end up reaping an action; you sow an action, you reap a habit; you sow a habit, and you end up reaping an entire character. And when your character goes south, it’s near impossible, apart from Jesus, to get back where you once were. 

I can say from experience: following Christ does not come easy. But take heart: if you are a believer in Christ, you are bound together with him. Just remember that drifting away from God starts in small ways with little thoughts. To keep the current of your thoughts in line, anchor them to the rock of God’s promises. Take every thought captive in the power of Jesus. Commit yourself to keep at the oars, to keep rowing against those strong undertows in the world. Let’s not be lolled to sleep and carried away. Don’t drift away from your Daddy, your Abba Father. 

Hey, friend, Father’s Day is coming up this weekend, and I sure wish there were a chance to tell my dad how much I miss him and love him, but he’s long since gone to heaven. But don’t you forget to make the call this weekend to your dad. Thank him for the impact he’s had on your life; make his day special; share with him some story, some memory that means a lot to you. Honor your father – and your mother of course – and I’ll be praying that your time together will be a sweet refreshment to you both. And on behalf of Ken and all of us here at the Joni and Friends International Disability Center – all of us wish you a happy Father’s Day. And we’re so grateful that together we can honor our heavenly Father, as well. Until next time, this is Joni Eareckson Tada for Joni and Friends. 

© Joni and Friends