5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Drifting

Clarence L. Haynes Jr. Contributing Writer
Updated Jul 29, 2022

In a previous article I looked at five things that can cause you to drift away. For today I want to respond to that article by giving you five ways to protect yourself from drifting. Our last article was built on this verse in Hebrews.

“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1).

Because drifting is a danger for all of us, let’s look at some things you can do to begin building safeguards over your life to help prevent you from drifting.

5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Drifting

1. Pay More Attention

This first way comes right out of the instruction in Hebrews – you need to pay more attention to what you have heard. This can be what you have been taught or what you have studied on your own. Are you paying attention to what God has said in his word? Paying attention does not just mean remembering it; paying attention means you are doing it and putting it into practice. One of the biggest deceptions is people who just read or listen to God’s word. They like good sermons or read a verse here and there, but they never take the time to do what it says. This person is deceived.

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:22-25).

If you are going to protect yourself from drifting, God’s word is going to play a critical role. You must become familiar with God’s word, and most importantly you must become obedient to it.

2. Get More Rest

One of the things that causes drifting is fatigue. Let me ask you plainly, what are you doing to get more rest? In the Old Testament God established the Sabbath. I know people will debate heavily on the way we should view the Sabbath today. Let me be clear, I am not making a commentary on that one way or the other, that is not my focus here. Whatever your view on the Sabbath is, put that aside for a moment and consider the principle in these verses.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:8-11).

One of the things God established when he created the Sabbath is the principle of rest. We were not designed to work seven days a week. We are not energizer bunnies who just keep going and going and going. We must stop and rest. It is imperative you build rest into your life. I know in our never-stop generation it is hard to do, but you must be intentional about it. If you don’t stop to rest, you will become fatigued, and we all know what happens when fatigue sets in.

3. Turn Off Your Devices

I need to take you back in time for a moment. Do you remember how much you used to panic when you left the house and forgot your wallet or purse? Now if you leave your house without your phone you can’t function. Your mind races to thoughts like what if someone calls me, or you wonder what you are missing. We have become addicted to our devices. If you are going to be able to protect yourself from drifting, you will have to incorporate moments where you separate yourself from your devices. Let me give you some practical suggestions that can help you:

- Don’t read the Bible on the phone because the notifications will distract you. Instead read a physical copy of the Bible.

- When you read, turn your phone off and if you feel like you can’t, then leave it in another room so you don’t hear it (the world is not going to end in the time you spend reading your Bible and praying. And if it does, at least you are ready for it.)

- Take an hour each day and do something non-electronic like reading a book or taking a walk or just sitting outside and enjoy the fresh air or peace and quiet.

- Turn the television off when you go to sleep. I have a terrible habit of falling asleep with the television on. However, I have noticed when I sleep with the television off, I get a much better night's sleep.

- Don’t sleep with the phone on your nightstand. The reason this is important is because of notifications, but the other reason is should you get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, you can’t fall into the trap of grabbing for the phone just to see what has happened.

If you practice disconnecting from devices, it will help you pay more careful attention to what God has said in his word. It will help you to rest and it will also help you hear when God is speaking to you because you won’t be so distracted.

4. Run from Sin

One of the best remedies to keep you from giving into temptation is separation. If you don’t go near the fire, you will not get burned. Because sin can be so enticing and its pull is so strong, one of the best ways to overcome it is to avoid it. We are all prone to certain temptations more than others. When you pay careful attention to those areas, it would be wise not to go around things that can become triggers. This may also include some people in your life.

There was a man who was trying to lose weight and one of the things he loved were donuts. Every morning he used to pass by the donut shop and bring donuts to work. Because he wanted to change, he recognized driving pass the donut shop was too great a temptation for him, so he chose a different route to go to work. After a few months of not bringing donuts into the office, one day he showed up with a box of donuts. His co-workers inquired as to what happened that made him bring donuts. He told them as he was driving to work, he had to take a different route because of construction. This detour forced him to drive by the donut shop. As he was driving, he felt the temptation of the donuts, so he asked God if you want me to get donuts today, give me a spot right in front of the donut shop. Miraculously a spot appeared, so he parked the car and got some donuts. It was an answer to prayer and obviously God wanted him to have donuts today. What he failed to mention in his story is he circled the block ten times before he found that spot.

The point here is simple. If we are going to avoid drifting away or falling back, we must avoid sin at all costs. I am not sure who said this first but here is how the saying goes: “Sin will take you further than you want to go. Sin will keep you longer than you want to stay. Sin will cost you more than you want to pay.”

This is the reality of sin, and the enticements can be strong so run from them because what it costs is not worth the price.

5. Make Prayer Part of Your Daily Life

When Jesus taught us to pray, he instructed us to pray “give us this day our daily bread.” The simple line means so much because it re-emphasizes the point that prayer should be part of our daily lives. Not just a prayer you pray in the morning, but an ongoing communication with God that goes throughout the day. Be intentional about including God in every aspect of your life. Pray before work. Pray during work. Pray in school. Pray in the house. In other words, pray without ceasing. By praying you are simply inviting God into every part of your life, and the best part is he wants to be included. This awareness will keep you focused on him and remind you that he is with you. This will help keep you from drifting.

Conclusion

Here is the time for a real hard truth. Drifting does not happen by accident; it happens by intention. It is a result of the small choices we make every day. Sometimes we are aware it is happening and sometimes we are not because drifting can be subtle. When you put the right safeguards in place, they will help prevent you from drifting, not because you don’t have the capability to drift, but the safeguards will cause the alarms to go off, making you aware you are drifting. I encourage you to put these safeguards in place and pay more careful attention because when you do you will not drift away.

Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club. He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.