My previous blog concerned drift and how it can happen to us and how it can be resisted. This time around I want to share two ways in which we can prevent drift.  They are Sighting and Anchoring.

Sighting:  Sailing in the San Juan Islands is always influenced, not just by the wind (directional and velocity), but by obstacles of rocks and islands, and other boaters.  These things cause changes in the way and direction the sail boat progresses.  But one of the hidden things that influences the journey are the tidal currents.  These are the primary drift promoters.  There is more than one story about sailors moving through the waters and going absolutely no where, or going completely off course.  The solution to this is two fold.  Know the tides, and find a land mark to keep your heading towards.  A large rock on a distant island is great for this.  You will not loose your bearings by keeping your eyes on the rock.  Once, we were moving across a body of water between some islands and other boaters.  My brother-in-law (whose boat it was) gave me the tiller.  He said keep your eyes on the rock point and keep the bow of the boat aimed at it, which I did.  At the beginning we were headed east, but by the time we got there we were headed south, all because of the currents.  Without the rock sighting we would have ended up somewhere else entirely because of the drift caused by the tides.  But by keeping the rock in sight, the proper adjustments were made and we got to where we were going, even though we were actually going on a different point of the compass.  

Jesus is our Rock, the Rock of Ages.  In the tides of life we need to keep our eyes on Him to avoid Drift.  Hebrews 12:2   Looking onto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.   and Isaiah 44:8  Do not fear, nor be afraid;  Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?  You are My witnesses.  Is there a God besides Me?  Indeed there is no other Rock;  I know not one.

Anchoring: The best way to hold steady in any boat is to anchor in safe harbor.  The boat will stay in place, no matter which way the drifting tides move.  This practice is something we can do for our souls as well - we can anchor in Christ Jesus the Lord, and we will dwell safe, and free from drifting where we don't want to go.  Hebrews 6:18  This hope we have as an anchor of the sould, both sure and steadfast.  Setting our confidence, our trust and our hope in the Lord allows Him to keep us from drifting away from His plans and purposes.  This anchor will hold day and night, in all seasons, and in all tides of adversity and temptations, because who we are anchored in will never change.  He indeed is the stabliity of our times.

Sighting is necessary to avoid drift when we are going somewhere (our deystiny journey).  Anchoring is necessary when we aren't suppose to be going anywhere (drifting from the will of God).  Both are necessary solutions to prevent Drift.