Debbie McDaniel writes:

We see it all around us, in headline news stories, or from the lives of those we know and maybe once trusted. And even so often, in our very own lives. Sometimes it happens before we realize what’s occurred. It’s unintentional. We don’t plan it. Lulled by the slow pull away, swayed by other things we start deeming more important, we wake up one day and realize things seem different. We find ourselves in a place we’d never intended to go.

The drift. Happens.

Sometimes out of busy-ness.
Sometimes out of hurt.
Sometimes because things are bad.
Sometimes because things are good.
Sometimes because we’re overwhelmed.
Sometimes because it’s hard to forgive and move forward.

And often because we begin to stumble. Temptation is fierce. The enemy waits for one wrong move. Sin crouches, ready to devour, as we head down a slippery slope. We can’t find a foothold, and begin to lose our way. By definition, to drift means “a continuous slow movement from one place to another.” It doesn’t happen quickly. It often takes us unaware. It’s simply the natural process that occurs, when we lose our bearings, and stop moving in the right direction.

And one thing is sure, it rarely happens because we intend for it to.

Jesus did something curious when facing His darkest hour:

ISOLATION: To become spiritually and emotionally disconnected from God or community so that secrets grow and spiritual growth stops.

Sarah Kinzer writes:
Consider the experience of plugging your phone in and going to bed at night and waking up in the morning, picking up your phone only to find it hasn't charged at all. You check the connection on the phone end, and it seems good, but as you move the cord, the charger port falls out of the outlet because it had become loosened from the wall. Not so loose that you noticed the night before. Not so loose that it didn't LOOK plugged in. But loose enough to render it ineffective and loose enough that it barely takes any nudge at all to completely knock it out. And unless the port is plugged back in, the phone will continue to drain battery until it is entirely dead.

There are Christians who say "This is my church," and yet don't attend regularly, don't serve, don't give, don't study the Word, don't go out on mission. Their connection to the church, to the faith, to Christ, is tenuous at best, and ineffective at worst. And it will take very little nudge at all to make it apparent to all that they have drifted, have disconnected, and have lost all charge.

The great news is that the opportunity is still open to reconnect, to come back not to an entity but to your faith and to your community, and your Savior and your community are waiting and welcoming return.

When we drift into isolation, we put ourselves at great risk.

But the problem with isolation is more than that. When we disconnect we violate the design and will of God Himself.
We tear away at what God has built - hurting His plan and the ones beside us.

We’re not now living in a time of isolation, but a time of overcoming isolation.
This is the perfect time to hear this message because we’re faced daily with the need to overcome isolation and restore connection however we can.

Supplemental Texts/Materials:

Five signs that you may be drifting:
-You have less intense passion for God – His word, His worship, His heart.
-You don’t regularly practice a biblical sabbath.
-You are often emotionally or spiritually disconnected.
-Your schedule is out of control.
-Technology doesn’t serve you, it runs you.