The Drift
The major theme from Matthew 1-16
Drift is the slow, often unnoticed movement away from a fixed point of truth, purpose, or alignment. It happens not through rebellion, but through neglect, distraction, or subtle influence.
The drift isn’t extreme or instant. It’s a gradual slide.
We’re seeing the drift everywhere in our world, a principle that we cannot escape just the same way we can’t escape gravity.
Currents: Watch a boat drift on the sea without an anchor. It’ll end up miles away from its destination even just a few degrees off at the start.
Continental Drift: Tectonic plates shift and over time, land masses move.
Erosion: No one wave etches out a cliffside, but over time, water reshapes the coast.
Religion tries to counteract the effects of spiritual drift through rituals- prayer, fasting, holidays, accountability, confession, etc.
God gave the Jews many such rituals to keep them close to Him.
What do we see happen though?
Despite the intent for these rituals to help draw you close to God, keep you from drifting away, they often slowly slide into legalism. When the heart detaches from the behavior, it becomes rigid, legalistic, empty.
The drift is happening even though the routines might still be present.
Jesus showed up and taught this truth OVER and OVER as the Pharisees and teachers of the law had drifted significantly in their hearts, despite outward piety.
It appeared to happen again when the Church went through big breaks and schisms (the Catholic / Orthodox split in AD 1000’s, and then again with the Protestant Reformation in the 1700’s).
It’s happening again and still. Drift.
Politically. The drift away from decency and logic into heralding a demagogue.
Spiritually. The drift in the contemporary Christian church (as one example) away from scripture.
Economically. Inflation.
Socially. Our acceptance with ever changing ideology of what we consider acceptable.
Drift is so deeply human.
It’s often not caused by anything nefarious. We don’t intend to drift. It’s caused by neglect, comfort, distraction, and success.
I drifted spiritually for 12 years. Some of it would probably not even be considered drift, but active RUNNING away.
I’ve spent the last few weeks reading the book of Matthew (I’m about halfway through), and I see this drift all over the place just in the few chapters I’ve read.
Pharisees attached to their traditions while their hearts have drifted.
Disciples drifting away from belief just days after witnessing wild miracles (the bread and loaves- feeding 5000 and then worried about what they will eat just days later).
John the Baptist drifting in doubt while in prison after preparing the way for the Messiah.
People in Nazareth (Jesus hometown) drifting away from believing He was the messiah because of familiarity.
Pharisees – Drifted from holiness into pride.
Disciples – Drifted from faith into fear and forgetfulness.
John the Baptist – Drifted from certainty into doubt.
Nazareth – Drifted from wonder into familiarity and offense.
Crowds – Drifted from awe into apathy.
I know there’s entire books of the Bible that deal with drift, but the theme is strongly coming alive in just 16 chapters of one gospel.
So how do we combat drift?
Even our tools (like rituals) are subject to stop working after a time. For example, if we say “We should pray three times a day”… we could in theory do that practice, but if our heart is drifting from God or not in it, the action becomes meaningless.
And then dangerous.
Dangerous because the action brings pride. A sense of “I’ve got this. I’m doing good works.” And pride is the primary sin that pulls us out of God’s presence and into our own strength.
The very tool we use to combat drift can actually be a dangerous mechanism that leads us a hardened heart.
The very tools we use to combat drift can, over time, become the mechanism of drift… not through failure, but through success without surrender.
The ritual stays, but the reverence fades.
The discipline continues, but the devotion is gone.
For me personally, I didn’t experience this because I left both the tool & the heart position.
But as I come back, bringing with me some tangible habits like daily scripture reading, I’m so aware that these tools have a double edged sword if my HEART doesn’t stay engaged.
I need to keep my heart awake.
The answer is in the same 16 chapters I’ve read.
Repentance. Humility. Faith.
These are the three things that Jesus has shown me in Matthew that keep the heart awake.
Repentance means to change your mind. It’s ultimately a heart that is teachable and willing to do something a different way.
The crowds at the Jordan – Confessed sins and were baptized by John. (Matt 3:5–6)
Tax collectors and sinners – Drew near to Jesus, open to change. (Matt 9:10–13)
The people of Nineveh – Recalled by Jesus as a model of true repentance. (Matt 12:41)
Humility is an understanding of your place. Of the grace & mercy extended to you. It’s an awareness of the gap between what you can do and what God must do through you.
John the Baptist – Recognized his unworthiness to baptize Jesus. (Matt 3:13–15)
The Centurion – Said “I’m not worthy” for Jesus to enter his home. (Matt 8:8)
The Canaanite woman – Accepted her outsider status, yet still sought mercy. (Matt 15:21–28)
Faith is belief in His word, His character, and His purposes. It’s trusting God fully.
The Centurion – Believed Jesus could heal with just a word. (Matt 8:5–13)
The bleeding woman – Reached out in quiet desperation, trusting He could heal. (Matt 9:20–22)
Friends of the paralytic – Brought their friend to Jesus; He saw their faith. (Matt 9:1–2)
Faith positions you to encounter God. Humility ensures you will be able to receive what He gives you. Repentance positions your life to look differently and your mind to think differently.
When a person has success, awards, accolades, power, money, status, fame… it builds pride, confirmation bias, as well as self-reliance. These are things that put the heart to sleep.
The natural human stuff we crave in life, brings drift.
It explains why the sermon on the mount was so fundamentally upside down.
While God’s kingdom is full of love, hope, joy, peace, health, all of those things… your ability to enter it is dependent on your faith, humility, and repentance. The things you need in order to rely on God’s power to move through you.
On the one hand, it’s terrible news for our flesh.
On the other hand, if we recognize the beauty and delight of being close to the God of the universe, that fulfillment is far greater than anything we could do here on Earth.
A heart awake means ultimate joy, peace, love, hope, meaning, regardless of what our life looks like here on Earth. And it can be experienced here and now. We don’t have to wait to be in heaven to experience that relationship with God.
The drift is real. Whether you acknowledge it or not.
This is why “staying still or static” is a lie. There’s no such thing in this world. We’re either moving forward or drifting away.
You can’t stand still in life anymore than you can stay still in an ocean without an anchor.
Drift happens slowly, quietly… often without resistance… because the forces pulling us away from God are constant in this world.
And it plays out in other areas that aren’t spiritual. It’s a truth that echoes across all of our life.
We don’t need a perfect ritual or flawless track record.