DRIFTING OFF

[Elder Dreama Gore]

I was having a conversation with someone when God began to minister to me about how I drifted off without realizing I was drifting. Occasionally people will sit and drift off to sleep. Many things will cause us to drift off to sleep; one of which is boredom, another is tiredness or fatigue, but the drifting I am referring to is when one drifts further and further out into the ocean without realizing they have drifted. Many times we grow so comfortable with a situation that we fail to see the subtle changes which are masked by something familiar. All changes are not readily visible and yet we eventually experience the effects of such changes. The ocean is very vast with many hidden things going on, which is much like our lives. Our lives are so multi-faceted that we sometimes overlook areas and only address them when they demand attention. One of those areas is our spiritual lives. I am not talking about drifting off into sin, that would be easy to recognize. No, the drift I am referring to is a drift away from God’s plans and purposes for you. How is ‘your’ spiritual life? Where is ‘your’ spiritual life? Is ‘your’ spiritual life progressive and productive (continuously active and producing results)? Seven months ago God put me on a sabbatical and changed my perspective of ministry. In submitting fully to the prophetic call which is upon my life, I discovered that I had spent a great deal of time on being busy in the Kingdom. One of the first things I realized was that I had focused on helping someone else fulfill the call upon their life and sacrificed the call which was upon mine. I am sure you have heard the familiar quote, “What you make happen for someone else, God will make happen for you”. Has that always been the case for you, did God make it happen in your life? I was busy doing things I believed pleased God but in reality it was pleasing to mankind but not necessarily to God. Did the other person ask me to make those sacrifices, no. Sometimes in our haste to gain acceptance or to fit in, we sacrifice our own identity in lieu of what and/or who someone says we are. I should interject here that I know who I am and who God has called me to be. However I got caught up in the game and yes I call it a game of, your time will come. It was as if I was being carried away from who I was by a rip tide. The changes were so subtle that I did not notice them. I have heard of rip tides before, however I have not given a lot of thought to them. A rip tide is actually a current. One thing I discovered about a rip tide is that it can develop as a result of a change in the shape or direction of the beach. The change in shape or direction causes a shift in the speed of the water flowing in. As water piles up, it causes a rip current . A rip tide is not obvious to everyone. Many people do not recognize them until they look at where they were and discover where they are now. All change is not bad however some changes can have a profound impact upon your destiny. In fact it was as though the proverbial beach changed but I was not immediately aware of it. I had to get out in the deep in order to discover that my busyness was actually keeping me away from God’s best. So, I ask you again, how is your spiritual life? Where is your spiritual life? Is your spiritual life progressive and productive(continuously active and producing results)? If not, perhaps you should check to see if the shape and/or direction of the place you are changed without you knowing it. It is possible to overcome a rip current but first you must recognize you are caught up in one and then take counter-measures.