Bestlife: 5 Days of Inspiration to Live Your Best LifeSample

Direction Not Drift

We must keep going in the direction that we are now headed.

—Philippians 3:16

A couple went on a vacation to Hawaii. They decided to do some snorkeling at the beach near their hotel. They went out into the lagoon to observe the aquatic life in the coral reef. They were mesmerized by all they saw—the coral, the colors, the variety of fish.

At some point, the husband lifted his head out of the water, and what he saw shocked him. They had been caught in a riptide without even realizing it. Focused on looking downward into the water, they had never looked up. Once they did look up, they realized they had drifted more than a mile out to sea. The shoreline looked impossibly far away. Their hotel looked like a mere blip in the distance.

Fortunately, they had a body board with them. They grabbed it and began furiously paddling back to shore. They swam for more than an hour before finally reaching the beach and collapsing in the sand. They were so close to disaster on a day intended to be a relaxing time at the beach.

That is a crazy story, but too many people can experience this same kind of thing with their lives. They look back over their past and realize they are far away from where they thought they would be. Somehow they drifted.

How can you maintain clear direction and avoid drifting in your life? Philippians 3:16 says, We must keep going in the direction that we are now headed. If we are not moving toward the goal, we will drift. Did you drift last week, last month, or last year? You cannot go somewhere else unless you acknowledge where you are right now. Have you allowed your focus to wander and drift away from your life’s direction?

Where are you at with your health, family, finances, career, or spiritual life? Where do you want to be? If you don’t know where you are going, you won’t get anywhere—or you will end up somewhere you don’t want to be. You end up drifting to a destination you would not have chosen.

Determine your direction today. Decide that drifting ends now. It will take self-discipline and hard work, but it can be done. You have not drifted so far away that you cannot get back on course.