ep 17 - Hebrews 2:1-3 | Don't Drift - How to Stay Anchored When Life Is Pulling You Away

8/1/20269 min read

EPISODE TITLE: Hebrews 2:1-3 | Don't Drift β€” How to Stay Anchored When Life Is Pulling You Away

Series: A Study Through the Book of Hebrews | Episode 4

We are back in Hebrews and picking up in chapter 2, and y'all, this passage hit different after the last few weeks. Life has been hard and honestly this study came at exactly the right time. We are only covering verses 1 through 3 today, but there is so much in just these three verses that we cannot rush past it. We are talking about one of the most quietly dangerous things that can happen to a Christian woman in a full season: drifting. Not rebellion. Not walking away on purpose. Just . . . drifting. Subtly. Accidentally. Until you look up and you are miles from where you were supposed to be.

If that resonates at all Γ  this one is for you.

BEFORE WE JUMP IN β€” TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Seven Letters Club is coming. I have been working on a pen pal, snail mail club β€” seven letters, three women, over 14 weeks. You will get writing prompts, a journaling pen, and everything you need to write with intention. This is how we take the in case i forget community beyond the digital world and into something real and tangible. All the details enrollment dates, what is included, how to join are at theologyandtestimony.com/the-7-letters-club. Spots are limited for this first session so do not wait.

A note on the show notes: My pledge before God is to build these studies without AI. Everything you hear taught on this podcast is Spirit-led and Word-grounded, studied through meditative time spent in the Word, using Logos Software and trusted commentaries. But when it comes to the show notes, I do use AI to help draft them directly from each episodes’ transcripts, and then I read through and edit them to make sure they reflect me and this community. I just want you to know that. Transparency matters here.

QUICK RECAP FROM HEBREWS CHAPTER 1 (Episodes 14, 15, and the previous episode in this series)

Before we can understand the word therefore that opens chapter 2, we have to remember what came before it. Hebrews chapter 1 established:

  • In the past God spoke through the prophets, but now He speaks through His Son

  • Jesus is the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of His nature

  • He upholds the universe by the word of His power

  • He made purification for sins and sat down at the right hand of the Father because the work is finished

  • He is much superior to the angels. He is not an angel, He is God

  • He is the begotten Son of God sharing the exact same nature as the Father

  • He is the heir of all things and the firstborn of many brothers and sisters

All of that is what the word therefore in chapter 2 verse 1 is pointing back to.

THE PASSAGE

Hebrews 2:1-3 ESV

"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

UNPACKING THE PASSAGE

The Word "Therefore"

Hebrews is not a collection of standalone chapters. It is a continuous letter, one flowing argument from beginning to end. We have divided it into chapters and verses to make it accessible, but the original readers experienced it as one uninterrupted piece of writing.

So when chapter 2 opens with therefore, that word is a hinge. Everything said in chapter 1 is being gathered up and carried forward into a new point. The author is essentially saying: given everything I just told you about who Jesus is, here is what that means for how you live.

And what does it mean? Pay much closer attention.

"We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard lest we drift away from it." Hebrews 2:1

That word drift is the word we have to sit with.

In the ancient Greek, the word used here carries the idea of slipping away, παραρρέω (pararrheo), the way something slides out of your hand, or the way a boat that was docked begins to move away from the shore. Not because someone pushed it. Not because there was a storm. Just because nothing was holding it in place and the natural movement of the water did what water does.

According to the commentary by David Guzik of Enduring Word (written in 1996), this drifting is something that happens without us realizing it. That is what makes it so dangerous.

Drifting is the opposite of intention.

It does not happen on purpose. It does not announce itself. It happens in the in-between. . . when you are taking care of your kids and running your home . . . showing up at work and managing your marriage. By the time you come up for air you realize that somewhere in all of that the Word got quiet and God felt far and you cannot quite remember the last time you were actually anchored.

That is drifting. And the author of Hebrews is warning us: If you are not paying much closer attention to what you have heard, this is what happens. Not rebellion. Not walking away. Just slipping. Quietly. Gradually. Until you look back and you are miles from where you were.

The opposite of drift is anchor.

An anchored boat does not drift because something is holding it in place even when the currents come. Even when the waves come. Even when the normal rippling of the water would otherwise move it.

We need an anchor. And our anchor is Jesus Christ.

How do we stay anchored?

This is not just a theological statement. It is practical:

Get into the Word, practice the Word, not just hear it, and stay there. Not just hearing it. James 1 tells us we are called to be doers of the Word. . . not just hearers. A boat does not get anchored by being near the anchor. It gets anchored by being attached to it.

Meditate on what you have heard. Just three days before recording this episode I was listening to Matthew 6 five times back to back because I needed it to settle. Not just land on the surface of my heart but actually go down into it. That is what it can look like to pay much closer attention.

Stay in community. One of the things that keeps us from drifting is being surrounded by other women who are paying attention too. When one of us starts to drift, another one notices. That is part of why the seven letters club exists . . . real community that shows up in your mailbox and keeps you tethered.

"For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution..." Hebrews 2:2

There is a widely held belief among scholars that this verse is referring to the Mosaic Law - the law given to Moses on the mountain - and that angels played a role in delivering or accompanying that message. We see this referenced in:

  • Acts 7:53 β€” "You who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it"

  • Deuteronomy 33:2 β€” a passage that seems to allude to angelic presence at the giving of the law

Here is the point that the author of Hebrews is making: the law, delivered through angels, through prophets, through the old covenant system proved reliable. Every single transgression received a just consequence. God meant what He said. He required holiness. And He enforced it.

If you have ever read Leviticus and thought this seems incredibly harsh, you are not alone. I felt the same thing on my first time through. But by the fourth attempt to read through Scripture cover to cover, it started to make sense: God is holy. Holiness demands holiness. And He is consistent. He does not change the standard. He does not show partiality.

Which is exactly what makes the next verse so staggering.

"How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" Hebrews 2:3

If the old covenant, the law delivered through angels and prophets, demanded that level of accountability, what does neglecting the new covenant look like?

The old covenant required perfect obedience and met every violation with just retribution. We could never keep it. That is the whole point. The law was given so we could see our sin and so our hearts could break for it, but within our own power we could never satisfy it.

So God sent His Son.

Jesus lived the life we could not live. He died the death we should have died. He satisfied the wrath of God on our behalf. And as Ephesians 1 tells us through His sacrifice we get to wear His righteousness. When God looks at us He does not see us as we are. He sees us through Jesus. He puts on His Jesus glasses and looks at us through the filter of His Son.

That is the great salvation.

And the question the author asks is not a condemning one . . . it is a rhetorical warning: if you have been given this and you neglect it, drift from it, ignore it, let it get buried under the noise of your Tuesday, how shall you escape the consequences of that drift?

The answer is: you cannot.

This is not meant to terrify us. It is meant to anchor us. You have been given something extraordinary. Pay much closer attention to it. Do not let it drift to the background of your life. Because the God who required holiness under the old covenant has given you His Son under the new one, and that gift is too significant to neglect.

The last six weeks have been genuinely hard for me. And I will tell you honestly, I have had to fight to stay anchored. Not because I stopped believing. But because when life gets heavy it is so easy to go from doer to just hearer. From anchored to slowly drifting.

What helped: sitting down to write the first letter for the seven letters club, before a single person had joined. The act of sitting down, picking up a pen, and writing with intention for someone else anchored me in a way I did not expect. I felt myself release things I had been carrying.

That is why this club exists. That is why this podcast exists. That is why Hebrews 2:1 matters so much Γ  pay much closer attention, lest you drift. This is not just a warning. It is an invitation to stay.

COMING UP NEXT

We are continuing through Hebrews chapter 2 in the next episode β€” there is so much more in this chapter and we are just getting started.

DOWNLOADABLE STUDY GUIDE

Follow along with this episode using the free companion postcard, the passage, three things to remember, a reflection question, and a closing prayer written for anchored women. Get your FREE STUDY GUIDE NOW.

3 THINGS TO WALK AWAY WITH

  1. Drifting is not rebellion. It is distraction. You do not have to walk away from God to drift from Him. You just have to stop paying much closer attention. Life gets loud. The Word gets quiet. And before you know it you are miles from where you were supposed to be. The warning is not to terrify you . . . it is to anchor you.

  2. The anchor is Jesus Christ and staying anchored is an action. Drifting is accidental. Anchoring is intentional. It happens in the Word. In prayer. In community. In the practice of what you have heard . . .not just the hearing of it. When life gets hard is exactly when you need to hold on tighter, not let go.

  3. You have been given a great salvation . . . do not neglect it. Under the old covenant every transgression received a just retribution. Under the new covenant you get to wear the righteousness of Jesus. That is extraordinary. Too extraordinary to let drift to the background of your busy Tuesday. Pay much closer attention.

APPLICATION FOR ANCHORED WIVES AND MOMS

The seasons when life is the loudest are the seasons when the Word needs to be the loudest too. Not because reading your Bible will make the hard thing go away. But because staying anchored to Jesus is what keeps you from drifting so far that you cannot find your way back.

When the waves come, and they will, hold onto the anchor. Play Matthew 6 five times if you have to. Write a letter to a stranger. Open Hebrews. Do something that tethers you to what is true even when what you see in front of you is telling a different story.

You are an anchored woman. Live like it.

SCRIPTURES REFERENCED

  • Hebrews 2:1-3 ESV β€” the main passage

  • Hebrews 3 (referenced ahead) β€” do not harden your hearts as in the wilderness of Meribah

  • James 1:22 β€” be doers of the Word and not hearers only

  • Matthew 6 β€” referenced personally; do not be anxious

  • Acts 7:53 β€” the law delivered by angels

  • Deuteronomy 33:2 β€” angelic presence at the giving of the law

  • Ephesians 1 β€” wearing the righteousness of Christ

  • Isaiah 64:6 β€” our best is like filthy rags before God

RESOURCES MENTIONED

JOIN THE SEVEN LETTERS CLUB

Seven letters. Seven women. Fourteen weeks. Everything you need to write with intention arrives in your welcome box before your first letter is due β€” custom stationery with prompts, envelopes, stamps, a journaling pen, a surprise gift, and the names of seven women who are waiting for your letter.

This is community that shows up in your actual mailbox.

Enrollment is open now β€” spots are limited for this first session.

[ENROLL NOW β†’] | [JOIN THE WAITLIST β†’] theologyandtestimony.com/the-7-letters-club

LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING

Have a testimony you want to share on the podcast? I am actively looking for women to come on and share what God has done. Send me an overview at mcgarrypodcasts@gmail.com and let's get you on the show.

And if this episode helped you β€” please stop right now and leave a review. It takes two minutes and it is the single most effective way to help more anchored women find this podcast. 🀍

This is Miki with in case i forget . . . theology and testimony for anchored women. I will catch you at the next one. Peace. ✌🏽

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