So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.)
By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Genesis 19:14-26
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Lot’s wife is unnamed. Her only crime, that we know of, is that she looked back…she died for her disobedience. I wonder…how many of us would be pillars of salt today (if we are being honest!)
Why can’t we just be satisfied and grateful for exactly where we are? When God asks us to stay in the present, He doesn’t always mean that the past necessarily is bad. It doesn’t have to be a time of struggle or pain that doesn’t need to be revisited. God is in the present, meaning He is here now! The way to spend time with the Father is to stay in constant contact with prayer and to read His Word. To remain in the past is to miss His presence.
For me, my biggest temptation is desiring to stay in the extremely good parts of my past. I loved being a mother of littles. The small hand in mine, the walks in the parks and feeding the ducks with pieces of bread. We read bedtime stories and said little prayers. Oh, and the hugs from their little arms, I miss them so much! But even so, it is wrong for me to want to stay there. Any time things are hard, trials hit me head on and I want to retreat back to a time when life was easy and days were long and the biggest issue was a child who wouldn’t sleep.
God has so much for us! But we will miss it if we keep looking back. Lot’s wife could have had a great life and who knows where they might have gotten to go. The land might have been full of milk and honey and their family might have had the best life ever! But she will never know—she looked back one time too many.
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Do you need God to help you in this area?
Let’s pray: Dear Lord, I come to You today to praise You. You are the most amazing Father and Provider. You are always the same even when everything else keeps changing. Lord, today I ask that You help those who are having a hard time leaving the past and stepping into the future that You have planned. I pray that You give us courage too, to move forward and to keep our faith in You. Thank You for this amazing life that You have given each one of us. Keep us focused and our eyes on You. In Jesus’ name, amen!
