The Slow Drift Away from God
Most believers don't walk away from God in one dramatic moment. They drift. In this episode, discover how the slow, silent drift happens, and how to find your way back one small step at a time.
Most believers don't walk away from God in one dramatic moment. They drift. In this episode, discover how the slow, silent drift happens, and how to find your way back one small step at a time.
Most people who have drifted from God can't tell you exactly when it happened. There was no single decision, no dramatic moment of walking away. Things just got busy. Life got loud. A skipped quiet time became a week, then a month. Church became occasional. Prayer shrank down to emergencies only. And one day, without any clear turning point to point to, God felt far away.
That is one of the most common experiences in the Christian life, and Hebrews 2:1 names it with a single, precise word: drift.
In this episode, we follow the story of Dan Ho, a 63-year-old man who swam at Cedar Beach on Long Island every single morning. He knew those waters. He was comfortable there. On an ordinary Tuesday in July 2023, he waded in and started his usual swim. He felt nothing unusual. No sudden pull. No moment of alarm. The water felt exactly like it always did.
Then he looked up. And the shore was gone.
A rip current had taken him, gradually and silently, without a single moment he could identify as the one where things went wrong. He was now alone in the open Atlantic Ocean, two and a half miles from where he had entered the water, with no idea how far out he actually was.
That image captures exactly what Hebrews 2:1 is warning us about. The drift that pulls a believer away from God rarely announces itself. It doesn't feel like rebellion. It feels like ordinary life moving at its ordinary pace. The danger is precisely that it feels like nothing at all, until the day you look up and the shore isn't where it used to be.
Through Dan's story and the sober warning of Hebrews 2:1, this episode takes an honest look at how the drift happens, what it costs, and what the return actually looks like. Because here is the good news: you come back the same way you left. One small step at a time. And God's posture toward the person who has drifted is not disappointment or distance. It is the posture of the father in Luke 15, scanning the horizon, already running toward you before you finish your rehearsed speech.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:
- How the slow, silent drift away from God happens, and why it is so difficult to detect while it's happening
- What Hebrews 2:1 reveals about the specific kind of danger that faces committed, believing Christians
- A simple, honest self-audit to help you identify where you actually are, and one practical step to start closing the distance
The drift is slow and silent. But so is the return. And God has been watching for you the whole time.
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Dan Ho was 63 years old, and he did this all the time.
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Every morning, he drove down to Cedar Beach on Long Island and
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waded into the Atlantic for a he knew those waters and was
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comfortable there. It was just a normal Monday morning in July of
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2023. So he walked in and started swimming. He didn't feel
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anything unusual, no sudden pull or a moment of panic. The water
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felt like it always felt. But at some point, he looked up, and
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the shore was gone. Somewhere in that ordinary morning swim, a
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rip current had taken him, very gradual and subtle, without a
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single moment he could point to and say, that's when it happened.
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Now, he was alone in the open Atlantic Ocean, and he had no
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idea how far out he was. He traded water and looked for
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boats, or for that matter, anything. And then he waited for
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five hours. We'll come back to what happened out there in a
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moment. But
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first, welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm
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Bart Leger. Let me ask you something. When did you last
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feel genuinely close to God? And when did that start to change?
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For most people, the answer to the second question is, "I'm not
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really sure." There wasn't a decision. Life just got busy.
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And somewhere along the way, without any single dramatic
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turning point, God started to feel far away. That's not an
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unusual story. It's one of the most experiences in the
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Christian life. And Hebrews 2: 1 calls it out: "So we must listen
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very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away
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from it." Drift. That's the word the writer chooses. It doesn't
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mean we've rebelled against God, but simply drifted. Because
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that's how it almost always happens. A skipped quiet time
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becomes a week without one. A busy Sunday becomes a month of
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skipped church. Prayer shrinks down to crisis moments only. The
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Bible sits on the nightstand, and days pass without it being
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opened. None of these felt like major decisions at the time.
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Each one feels like a small temporary shift. But small
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adjustments in the same direction over enough time add
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up to a long way from home. The frightening about a drift is
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that it doesn't feel like anything while it's happening.
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And that's what makes it dangerous. A dramatic rebellion
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would at least register as a choice. A drift feels like
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ordinary life moving at its ordinary pace. You're not angry
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at God or not walking away. You're just busy and you're
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tired. You're going where life takes you. And one day you look
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up and the shore isn't where it used to be. The writer of
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Hebrews understood this. The letter was written to followers
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of Jesus, people who had already known the truth, who had already
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heard the gospel, who had already committed their lives to
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Christ. The warning wasn't for unbelievers. It was for people
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exactly like you and me. People who can drift, not because they
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stopped believing, but because they stopped paying attention.
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So what does a drift look like in practical terms? It usually
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starts with the spiritual disciplines. Prayer times get
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shorter. Scripture reading becomes occasional. The internal
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conversation with God that used to be ongoing goes quiet. These
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are the things nobody else can see, which is part of the reason
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why they can slip so easily. From there, the drift moves
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outward. Community becomes less of a priority, and
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accountability all but disappears. Worship starts to
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feel like an obligation instead of a response. And because none
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of this happens overnight, there's no single moment to
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repent of. We really don't remember when we started to
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drift. Just a vague sense that something's missing, and you're
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not sure when it left. But here's the good news. God's
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ready for you to return to Him. All it takes is a choice. Even
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as you begin one step at a time. One morning back in the Word.
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One honest prayer that admits you've been distant. One Sunday
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back in a pew. One conversation with a friend who will ask you
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the hard questions. The steps back are pointing you back in
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the right direction. And here's what I want you to know about
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God's attitude towards the person who's drifted. He's not
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standing at a distance with his arms crossed waiting for you to
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explain yourself. He's the Father in Luke 15, scanning the
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horizon for the returning son, and then running toward him
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before the son even finishes his rehearsed speech. The drift
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doesn't change God's disposition toward you. It only changes your
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proximity to Him. And proximity is something you can close one
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step at a time starting today. Now let's get back to Dan. So
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Dan Ho is out there in the Atlantic, alone and no shore in
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sight. He's treading water for five hours, but he didn't panic.
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He stayed as calm as he could. And at some point, he spotted
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something floating nearby. A broken fishing pole. So he took
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off his shirt, tied it to the pole, and started waving it in
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the air like a flag. Two men in a boat, Jim Hohorst and Michael
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Ross, were passing roughly two and a half from where Dan had
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entered the water. They saw something waving. So they turned
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toward it. And they found him and pulled him out. Two and a
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half miles. That's how far the current had taken him. In a swim
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he had made hundreds of times before and waters he knew by
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heart. Here's the part I don't want you to miss. Dan never felt
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a single dramatic tug. There was no warning moment and no loud
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alarm. The current just did what currents do. It moved slowly and
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steadily until the shore was something he couldn't even see
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anymore. And that's exactly what Hebrews 2: 1 is warning us about.
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Not a dramatic rebellion or a memorable turning point, just a
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slow, subtle drift that nobody notices, including the person
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being carried. So let me ask you, when was the last time you
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looked up and checked if you've moved away from Jesus? Because
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the current doesn't announce itself, it just moves. And if
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you're not actively paying attention, you can travel a long
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way from home without ever feeling like anything is wrong.
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Here's today's challenge. Take an honest look at the last 30
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days. How often did you open your Bible? How consistent was
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your prayer life? Have you been in community with other
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believers? Or have you been doing this alone? You're not
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looking for a perfect record, you're just looking for the
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drift. And if you spot it, don't wait for a better time to start
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back. Take one small step today. Open your Bible. Say an honest
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prayer. Text someone who will ask how you're really doing. The
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shore is still there, God hasn't moved. And one step back in the
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right direction is all it takes to start closing the distance.
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Lord, you see we are. Forgive us for drifting away from you. We
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just want to come back. Draw us close again and remind us that
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you've been watching for us the whole time. Give us the grace to
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take one step back today. In Jesus name. Amen. If this
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episode spoke to where you've been, would you share it with
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someone who might need to hear it today? Just go to
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dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/210 and copy the link. It only
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takes a second and it might be exactly what someone in your
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life needs right now. Thanks for joining me on Daily Devotions
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for Busy Lives. Remember the drift is slow and silent, but so
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is the return and God's already watching for you. Come back next
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time for more encouragement to help you live grounded in God's
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truth. Until then, God bless and have a great day.
