How to Build Without Costly Drift

I’ve been thinking a lot about alignment lately.

Not because everything was falling apart. Actually, it was the opposite. We’re seeing more fruit, more impact, more influence, and more transformation than ever across nations. And right in the middle of that growth, Holy Spirit put His finger on something in me: Andy, you need an alignment check. 

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That got my attention

I used the picture of my truck because it helped me understand what was happening. The truck still drives, but the tires are wearing unevenly. It drifts a little. It shakes a little. And if I ignore it, what looks small now becomes costly later. That’s what Holy Spirit was showing me. I was still moving. Still fruitful. Still doing good things. But I could feel a subtle drift, and for me that drift looked like getting ahead of God. That’s the part I want to say plainly to you: I was the one Holy Spirit was aligning.

Not because I was in open rebellion. Not because I had walked away from God. Not because I was doing bad things. I was doing a lot of good things. But I was beginning to move with momentum faster than I was moving in surrender. For me, drift doesn’t usually look like quitting. It looks like initiating without pausing, moving without checking in, building without listening. And that is where the Lord stopped me. The scripture that woke me up

The passage that really shook me was Matthew 7:21–23:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven…”

Jesus goes on to describe people who did impressive things in His name, and yet He says, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” That’s not a small warning. That is a massive wake-up call. What hit me was this:

• You can do powerful things.
• You can do helpful things.
• You can do “Christian” things.
• And still be out of alignment if you are functioning from independence instead of surrendered partnership with God.

That’s what I felt Holy Spirit highlighting in me.

What is lawlessness, really?

When I read 1 John 3:4, “sin is lawlessness,” I started asking, what does that actually mean? Because most believers hear “lawlessness” and think only of obvious wrongdoing. But the deeper issue Holy Spirit was confronting in me was this:

Lawlessness is self-governance outside of God’s authority.

That is sobering. It means I can still preach, lead, build, serve, give, and help people—and yet in my heart be operating from “my will, my timing, my momentum, my way.” That’s not partnership. That’s independence dressed up as stewardship. For me, Holy Spirit was showing me that my tendency is not usually to run from God. My tendency is to run ahead of Him.

And those are not the same thing, but both require an alignment check. Jesus became my model again. Whenever I need clarity, I come back to Jesus. Jesus is 100% Son, and yet He never lived independently from the Father. He said in John 5:19, “The Son can do nothing of Himself,” and in Luke 22:42, “Not My will, but Yours, be done.” He is the model of surrendered strength.

That confronts a lot of modern thinking.

True Kingdom Maturity

We often define maturity as independence. But the Kingdom does not. In the Kingdom, maturity is dependence—not childish passivity, but conscious, chosen reliance on the Father. Jesus had all authority, all power, all identity, and yet He chose surrender. He chose to do only what He saw the Father doing.That’s where Holy Spirit was adjusting me. Not by stripping away vision. Not by shutting down fruitfulness. But by bringing me back to this question:

Andy, are you doing what makes sense, or are you doing what the Father is saying?

Son, Servant, and Steward

One of the ways I process this is through three words:

• I am a son in identity.
• I am a servant in posture.
• I am a steward in responsibility.

That framework helps me stay balanced.

1. I am a son - Romans 8:15 says I have received the Spirit of adoption. I am accepted. I belong. I have inheritance, access, rest, and relationship with the Father. I do not work for approval. I work from it.

2. I am a servant - At the same time, 1 Corinthians 6:20 says I was bought with a price. My life is not my own. That means surrender is not optional. If He is Lord, then I don’t belong to myself anymore.

3. I am a steward - And then 1 Corinthians 4:2 says it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. I have assignments, resources, people, opportunities, and influence entrusted to me. I don’t own them. I steward them.

This is where Holy Spirit was realigning me.

Because when I overemphasize sonship without surrender, I drift into entitlement or independence. And when I emphasize surrender without sonship, I drift into striving and performance. That’s why I said it this way:

• Sonship without surrender is independence.
• Surrender without sonship is striving.

The Kingdom holds both together. Abiding is what brings me back. The only way this works is through abiding. Jesus said in John 15:5, “Without Me you can do nothing.” That doesn’t mean I have no natural capacity. It means I cannot produce fruit that remains apart from living union with Him. If I want lasting fruit, I must stay connected to the Vine.

The Invitation

That was the invitation Holy Spirit was giving me—not, “Try harder.” Not, “Become more impressive.” Not even, “Work less.”

The invitation was:
Abide. Slow down. Reconnect. Listen again.

I know when I’m drifting because I start to get restless, hurried, irritated, and driven. I start pushing. I start acting like it all depends on me. That is usually my signal that I’ve slipped out of abiding and back into self-effort.

What this Looks Like in Real Life

Holy Spirit didn’t just show me the problem. He also gave me practical ways to realign. Pre-decision pause. Before I jump into something, I pause and ask:

• God, what are You doing here?
• What is Your will in this situation?

Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9–10, “Our Father in heaven… Your kingdom come. Your will be done.” That prayer is not religious language. It is a leadership posture. I don’t want God to bless my momentum. I want to align with His movement.

Return moments

I also need regular moments in the day where I simply return my attention to Him. That’s where the language of practicing His presence has been so helpful. I can stop in the middle of work and remember:
"Father, You are my source.
Of myself I can do nothing.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done."

Immediate obedience

This one matters deeply. The Hebrew idea of hearing is tied to obeying. If God speaks and I delay, I harden my responsiveness. Colossians 3:17 says let your words and deeds represent Christ. So if I sense His direction, I need to act on it. Alignment grows through obedience, not admiration.

Check the source

I’ve also learned to ask:

• Is this flowing from God’s grace, or from my own pressure?
• Is this peace, or is this momentum?
• Is this joy, or is this fear dressed up as responsibility?

That question exposes a lot. Psalm 90 changed the way I pray. I love Psalm 90:17: “Establish the work of our hands for us.” But Holy Spirit took me back one verse to Psalm 90:16: “Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children.” That changed the order for me. I often want God to bless my work.

1. But the deeper prayer is first:
God, show me Your work.
2. Then:
Establish the work of my hands as I align with Yours.

That’s the alignment.

My hand under His hand is a really good handful. But I don’t want my hand moving independently and then asking Him to endorse it afterward. 

Check the Alignment

Here’s what I want to say to you personally:

Maybe you’re not resisting God in some dramatic way. Maybe you’re like me. Maybe you love God. Maybe you’re building good things. Maybe there is real fruit in your life. Maybe you’re helping people, serving well, and leading faithfully.

But maybe Holy Spirit is also whispering to you:

"Slow down. Check your alignment."

For me, the issue was not that I stopped caring about God. The issue was that I was moving quickly enough to stop checking in as consistently. Less pausing. Less listening. More initiating. That was my alignment check. And maybe yours looks different. Maybe yours is distraction. Maybe it is fear. Maybe it is passivity. Maybe it is control. But whatever it is, the invitation is the same:

• Come back to Jesus.
• Come back to abiding.
• Come back to surrender.
• Come back to sonship.
• Come back to the joy of doing life with God, not just for God.

A prayer for alignment

Here’s a simple place to begin:

"Father, where have I been running ahead of You?
Where have I called You Lord, but stopped checking in?
Show me Your work.
Search me, know me, lead me, and re-align me."

And then sit with Him. Because alignment is not condemnation. It’s mercy. It’s love. It’s the kindness of God keeping you from drift before drift becomes damage. 

That’s what Holy Spirit was doing for me. And I’m grateful.