Drifting Away or Turning Away?

Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

Hebrews 3:12 (RSV)

What can turn us away from God? Can sin turn us away from God? These two questions seem simple and call for clear, direct answers. Yet, upon closer inspection, we might realize we have misunderstood them by interpreting a specific word in a certain way. When we read the phrase "turning away," we tend to equate it with "drifting away" or "creating distance" between ourselves and God. However, these are two very different concepts, even though they can carry the same meaning depending on the context.

While sin can cause us to drift away from God, it cannot, in itself, cause us to turn away from Him. Turning away from God means harboring negative feelings and sinking into unbelief; it means beginning to doubt God and question His actions. This is precisely the mistake the people of Israel made in the wilderness. It was this doubt and unbelief that led them to turn away from God and toward other gods. That is why God decided they would not enter the Promised Land. In this passage, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews seeks to persuade his readers to avoid finding themselves in the same situation as the Israelites in the wilderness.

If you have ever thought that your sin had turned you away from God, know that this is not the case. It may have created distance between you and Him, but in Jesus Christ, you always have the opportunity for redemption through the sincere confession of your sins, for God forgives you through Jesus. However, if you stop believing in God because of life's trials and seek elsewhere for what only He can offer, then you have turned away from Him. In this sense, you have abandoned Him. Do not let the circumstances of your life turn you away from God; for if He allows them to happen, it is because He has a far better plan for you—a plan of peace that requires you to go through this trial for a time.

May the grace and peace of God be with you.