A camera slowly pans the darkening skies above Sodom and Gomorrah. Night is falling. Thrumming beneath it all, a soundtrack. Low, rhythmic, in a minor key, the music makes the hair on our arms stand up.
A swift and terrible judgment is coming. A disaster of truly biblical proportions.
Chapter 3: Pillar of the Community
Genesis 18:16-19:29
Earlier that same day, Abraham had bargained with the Lord to spare sinful Sodom and Gomorrah, if just ten righteous men could be found there.
When two angelic messengers arrived in Sodom at nightfall, it seemed the only man worth saving was Abraham’s nephew, Lot.
Working through these two angels, God rescued Lot and his family seven times, by my count. Here’s what the angels did:
1. Pulled Lot back into the house when the men of Sodom threatened him (Genesis 19:10)
2. Blinded the men of Sodom, so Lot could not be found (Genesis 19:11)
3. Gave Lot a chance to warn his future sons-in-law (Genesis 19:12)
4. Urged Lot to hurry and flee from the city at dawn (Genesis 19:15), telling him “Arise” (ASV), “Get up” (CJB), “Go!” (EXB), “Quick!” (GNT)
5. Took Lot by the hand and led him out of Sodom (Genesis 19:16)
6. Warned Lot to flee to the mountains (Genesis 19:17)
7. Allowed Lot to instead seek shelter in a nearby town (Genesis 19:22)
Though she remained unnamed from first verse to last, Lot’s wife was present each of those seven times. She saw and heard it all, and was included in God’s salvation efforts: “Hurry! Take your wife…” (Genesis 19:15).
One of the angels grasped her hand (Genesis 19:16). Her hand. Held on tight. Led her away from the sins of her past. Pointed her toward a whole new future.
This way, Mrs. Lot. Go, and sin no more.
It’s been said that, on average, people hear God’s message of salvation seven times before responding. Interesting number. Lot, Mrs. Lot, and the two little Lots, were given a clear choice seven times.
Stay behind and be destroyed. Go forward and be saved.
Why so many chances? “Because of the Lord’s compassion” (Genesis 19:16 HCSB). Because “the Lord was merciful” (NIV). He saves us, he forgives us, he has compassion on us, not because of our goodness, but because of his grace.
The Lord asked just one thing of Mrs. Lot and company: “Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!” (Genesis 19:17).
Mrs. Lot didn’t say a word. Didn’t reveal her thoughts. Didn’t confess her fears. She walked when her family walked. Listened when her husband talked. Heard him ask if he might hide in Zoar, rather than flee all the way to the distant mountains.
“Then my life will be spared” (Genesis 19:20), “my soul shall live” (ASV), “my life shall be saved” (LEB), Lot said.
For Lot, everything was in the key of “Me, Me, Me.” That’s why this story demonstrates the wideness of God’s mercy. I would never have saved this man. But God would. And did.
The very moment that Lot, Mrs. Lot, and their daughters were safely in Zoar, all heaven broke loose.
“Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah” (Genesis 19:24). “Brimstone and fire” (AMP), if you will. “A river of lava from God out of the sky!” (MSG).
Even the wildfires in Colorado and the EF5 tornadoes in Oklahoma, horrific as they were, didn’t approach this supernatural level of destruction. Every living, growing thing in Sodom and Gomorrah was utterly decimated.
Because they were in a safe place, Lot and his two daughters were spared.
Because she ignored so great a salvation, Mrs. Lot was not.
This is her one-line biography. This is the single verse that says it all.
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Genesis 19:26
“A pillar of salt!” (YLT). Yes, really. The Hebrew word, melach, literally means “salt,” the same kind used for seasoning food or making an offering before the Lord. However could such a travesty happen? Let’s find out.
But Lot’s wife… Genesis 19:26
In the original Hebrew, not only does her name not appear in this verse; his name doesn’t either. Only the word ishshah, meaning “woman, wife, female.” Everywoman, then.
This cautionary tale is for all of us. Don’t look back.
But she did.
…looked back,… Genesis 19:26
The order of the Hebrew words is reversed, suggesting “she lagged behind her husband” (VOICE) or was “following behind him” (ERV). Indeed, the custom of the time required the wife to walk a few steps behind her husband.
No doubt her daughters walked in front of her as well, so she could keep her eye on them. Typical mom move. So far, so good.
Then she did the unthinkable. The impermissible. Like Eve, who broke God’s single decree, “Don’t eat,” Mrs. Lot broke the one command given her, “Don’t look.”
She “looked toward the cities” (NLV), instead of focusing on her future. She “looketh expectingly” (YLT), but in the wrong direction entirely.
Oh, this truth cuts way too close for comfort.
The Bible doesn’t tell us she stopped, the other part of the angelic warning. Maybe she merely glanced over her shoulder and kept walking. But a little sin or a lot of sin, it was still sin. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10).
Tempting to say, “Not much grace in this story.” Oh, but there was. Seven times.
Instead of reflecting on the mercies of God, she looked back on her old life, remembering all the people, places, and things she’d loved and left behind.
Is it just me, or are you hearing the ominous drumbeats of that soundtrack running all through this story? Warning! Warning! Warning!
A day will come when we must chose. Forward or backward. Life or death.
…and she became… Genesis 19:26
Just as A leads to B, disobedience leads to death. God made that clear in the Garden of Eden, and demonstrated it here in a dramatic way.
Mrs. Lot was “changed” (NLV), she was “turned into” (CEV) something other than a woman. The last thing she saw—a swirling inferno of ash and sand—wrapped her in its deadly embrace.
…a pillar of salt. Genesis 19:26
She turned into a “column” (CJB), a “statue” (DRA), a “block” (CEV).
Hard. Immovable. Stuck.
Stuck? Yes, we get that. Can’t move forward, can’t move backward. That’s not where God wants us to be, beloved. There’s no life in such a place.
The Hebrew word, netsib, is translated “pillar” here, though elsewhere the same word is rendered “garrison” or “deputy.” Until I saw Mrs. Lot on the western shore of the Dead Sea, I didn’t realize how well the word suited her.
There she stands (well, at least the sign says it’s her), arms folded, chin jutted out, looking in the wrong direction for eternity.
If we leap forward fifteen hundred years, give or take a century, we’ll find Jesus teaching his disciples about the coming Kingdom of God. Guess which story he used to illustrate his point?
Jesus told them, “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:28-29).
Right. We just watched it happen. Terrible.
Jesus continued, “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it” (Luke 17:30-33).
There it is, the takeaway from this story, spelled out for us by our own Rabbi Jesus. Let go. Follow God. Don’t hang on. Don’t look back.
our Discussion Question
If you’ve read the fictional opening to this chapter in Bad Girls of the Bible, you know the significance behind this photo of Spirit Lake, taken from Mount St. Helens. Lottie was a woman who refused to leave the lakeside home she loved, even when the ground shook and acrid smoke filled the air.
And here’s our Discussion Question from that chapter:
Fewer phrases are sadder than the ones that begin, “If only…” For those of us who live with a boatload of regret for our past mistakes, the story of Lot’s wife is a sobering one. What would be the hardest person, place, or thing for you to walk away from? If God asked you to do so, for your own good, how would you respond?
I’ve traveled enough that I’m not overly attached to one geographical place above all others. But this old farmhouse we’ve called home for the last twenty years? This will be very hard to walk away from and not look back. Every room is filled with tangible memories. Nothing of great value—our “antiques” are really just used furniture—yet each item is dear to me.
More to the point, our children were raised in these high-ceiling rooms. Their photos smile back at me. Some of their artwork, faded and curling, still lives on the fridge. The quilts that once kept them warm at night remain on their beds.
Someday, though, it will be too much house, too much yard, too much for two people to handle. God will have to lift the keys from my hands and push me down the driveway, urging me, “Don’t stop, Liz. And don’t look back.”
Am I ready? I am not. Am I willing? I have to be. Simply must be. Our house is not our true home. Our children belong to God, not to us. And the stuff we own amounts to wood, hay, or straw (1 Corinthians 3:12), easily destroyed by wind, fire, or termites.
Pry open my hands, Lord. Take the keys I grip so tightly. Remind me that any future you’ve designed for me is far better than everything I leave behind.
Now it’s your turn
My question is now your question: What would be the hardest person, place, or thing for you to walk away from? If God asked you to do so, for your own good, how would you respond?
Share you thoughts by following this link to my website blog, then adding your response under Post a Comment at the bottom.
And do take a quick look at Mrs. Lot’s sand-colored Pinterest board. It’s one of my favorites.
Next week, we’ll be refreshed by a much-loved Former Bad Girl, the Woman at the Well. So grateful to have you with me on this journey.
Your sister, Liz
Now in stores…
Ah well, you had to ask! This chapter nails me flat. Period. Stuff & more stuff and you are so right re: the keys. Sigh. Tickled Nancy T is teaching next week @ MUMC on Mrs. Lot & I’m not! Thanks to Nancy Sleeth’s book, “Almost Amish” & to Jen Hatmaker’s Bible study, “7”(which will scare the pants off of ya!), I’m slowly but surely going thru’ things & trying to pitch, donate, etc. But, long way to go. We all need these excellent reminders & your Bad Girls are such time worthy lessons. Thanks, Liz, for your Godly wisdom. Hugs across town!
I would pray that my response would be to immediately go; but, I don’t know. Throughout our lives we do become attached to things or even to people (our security). But, I pray that the love I have for God and my devotion to Him would outweigh any attachment to those things.
God, give me the narrow vision of You so that nothing can make me turn my eyes!!! Put blinders on me so that the only thing I see is YOU!!
It always saddens me when I have to leave some place or some one. I have had to do it a couple of times and it was very hard to do, but the peace and joy that followed, knowing that we were in God’s perfect will was very satisfying. That is why I don’t look back. Yes, even after doing God’s will and obeying him to “Go!”, we have made mistakes, but God has been faithful. So, now we have been at this place for 8 years, getting comfortable and loving it, but should the Lord say, “it’s time to go and don’t look back”, I know I would falter in obeying quickly, I would fear what is next and I would be slow in moving, but in the end, I know I would obey, because I know God holds the future and He knows better.
I feel that this is for me.. I ask today that Jesus be clear if I am doing something in my life by “looking back”… I really need his help and I know he is working but I really need God to heal my daughter and son Jesse and Nikki from the hurts and disappointments and abuse in our life. I pray that we change our perspective and have forward thinking and help me and my kids not dwell in the past but heal the past hurts and pains in Jesus name. Please help Jesus
I am one of those people who hate ANY kind of change so the idea of just leaving everything, everyone behind sort of freaks me out…. but I would like to think if an angel had me by the hand, my perspective would sorta clear up. I’d like to hope anyways.
This will sound odd, but because I did not receive comfort at home I find myself, periodically, emotionally desperate to try to fill that vacuum with human comfort. Even though I don’t succumb to the desperation~ at these times it is very difficult and quite a battle for me to ‘feel’ past all the emotion and have Jesus be enough. So my answer is giving up hope for deep comfort apart from God.
Tilda, what you said does not sound odd, as Christians we are to be a comfort to each other and that is biblical. So for you finding comfort and love from Christians is not wrong. And yes, it would be hard to leave folks that are comforting to us and understand us. We always have Jesus right there beside us and His comfort and He also puts people in our lives to help us. God bless you for sharing Tilda, Debbie Brant
This was so, so poignant. Thank you.
This is one of the difficult parts of the Bible for me. The verses of Genesis 19:5 – 8 state that Lot was willing to turn his two young daughters over to the mob and allow the mob to “do ye to them as is good in your eyes” in order to save the angels. Yet he is saved while his wife, who looked back, is not.
Remember, Lot’s wife turned back because she loved her sin…Lot left sin at Sodom and turned away by not looking back. If one is truly saved we don’t want to look back at our sins and regret not doing them again. God shows us through Lot and giving over his virgin daughters how evil that thought was and although it looks bad to us, I think to God any sin looks bad to the Him, sin is sin. Lot knew that was wrong leaving Sodom and he did not want to go back to it where his wife did….
Confession time: It has always disturbed me that Lot was willing to give his own daughters over to depravity but his wife is the one who was turned into a pillar of salt. Why didn’t God make Lot a pillar of pepper?!? But, you know, the more I dwell on this, I realize that God’s redemption is here. Yes, Lot sinned. But, he chose the path of righteousness when provided a way out. It appeared his wife was choosing that path too. Then she digressed. I have done that many times myself. Shouldn’t I have been turned into salt as well? But for the grace of God through His son and My savior, Jesus.
Interesting. It was only a glance. How many times have I said, “If only?” This is a form of looking back for me. I can leave my home and things. I have done it many times and given up things I love (my dogs) because of having to live with my parents for a season a couple of times (mom did not like animals). This was very hard for me. I have gone thru a house fire when I was 5. So, I know loss of the temporal. I sometimes think what would I take if I could only take a few things. It would be my dad’s paintings. I can never replace these things……so, if I had to leave NOW I know that I would glance back because it is memories of my dad and his beautiful work. They make me still close to him even though he is gone. So, I would fail and be turned into a “pillar of salt”. I am just being honest.
My problem,also, is the what if’s. “What if I did not do this, that or the other” I have gotten so much better at not doing this. God does not want me to look back but (I was going to say look to the future) God wants me to live one day at a time. Looking to the future can be depressing for me because I can not see an end to “circumstances”. So, one day at a time (as Pasty Cline sings) and listen for His voice. I worry too much about stuff. So, just look for today because tomorrow has it’s own problems……lol…..I am trying to remember the verse. Silly old me..ha!HA!
Mine is definitely our home. Our son and daughter in law wanted us to move to something smaller a few months ago. They were even willing to purchase it and we could live there for 1/3 of what our house payment is now. Which believe me would have been a big help financially. We appreciated the offer but said no, because after talking neither of us wanted to move from our home even at a much cheaper price. We talked and did pray about it and decided that if we felt God speaking to us about moving we would. But it would be so hard. I asked Pa if he felt that God was leading us to move and neither of us felt that he was. But we know now that if God led us in that direction we would go, looking back would be the hardest part though. It would not be easy, but we would go.
I answered this question on my blog…..http://ramblingandstitching.blogspot.com/2013/09/are-you-serious-god.html
This was a question I struggled with to say the least!
Love the study .thanku.God Bless U Mrs.Liz.
That is a tough one Liz….My children or grandchildren would be my answer.I struggle when I am odds with either of my children. I don’t do well until things are resolved. I hope God never asks me to seperate from them. I have alsways been troubled by the story of Job when he loses his children. Everything else is replaceable..He will give me the Grace in need in any and every situation…even losing a child BUT I pray he wouldn’t ask me to walk away form them and never look back.
I pray often that God will not ask me to turn my back on my husband. I don’t know why He would…but it is one thing I cannot fathom giving up without looking back! I know that God honors marrige vows and covenants. So, unless my husband were to not allow me to worship or praise God, I can’t think of any reason God would do that. I struggle giving up memories (things) from parents and grandparents who are deceased, but it wouldn’t be devastating if I did. Our children and grandchildren are so precious. I have often prayed that God would help me keep my relationship with them in proper perspective. Thanks, Liz…I will ponder this awhile!
That is a hard question…although…I am thinking of leaving the city we have lived in for 23 years. Trying to get out of the ‘high desert’ snow of Oregon to a warmer climate for good. We found a little place in the Californian desert that we have ‘escaped’ to the past two winters…but now I am ready to sell that as well – think wind/sand storms, flash floods…:) I have had a hard time leaving my two grandchildren (and my daughter) who now live with us, even for a few months in the winter…so that would be my hardest ‘people’ to leave. We have been their support system for over 2 years after a divorce. And now their absent father has passed away 3 months ago. So I would have a really hard time leaving them now to move to a new town…guess I will have to take them with me. 🙂 And I will not look back… but look forward to what God has for us next!
Thanks Liz for these great encouraging stories – that make us really think!
Love your writing – and your books! 🙂
Blessings to you and your family!
For me, it would be my children. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where I would have to walk away from them… but I do trust that God’s loving care will be sufficient for them, whatever may happen. As you mentioned, they don’t belong to us. 🙂
Thanks for the blog! I can’t believe you have time to keep it up like you do, let alone to respond to a lot of the comments. You’re doing great!
Hi Liz,
I am reading your bible study online and I just had the question Why wasn’t Lot’s wifes’ name mentioned. was it because she wasn’t saved? because she looked back which leads me to wonder if she was saved by Christ.
Thanks Liz
Many women in the bible are not given their names. I don’t think Lots wife was saved because she “looked back at her sin” she didn’t want to
leave the horrific sins of Sodom and that says it all. Once we are saved we don’t want to sin against the Lord and we don’t look back at our former sin with regret. We have a choice in life to follow the Lord or not follow Him and not following Him leads to death and separation from Him for eternity. Lots wife is separated from the Lord for eternity…
Funny you should ask that question as I might just be leaving my “home” of almost 30 years to live in my grandparents home instead. This would also be a move from CA to CT which are worlds away! The hardest thing to leave would be my grown daughters. But this might also be the best thing for them to grow too. God seems to be leading the way on this and I am forever looking for His answer as to go or stay. Thanks Liz!
I have many of the same questions as some of the other writer’s expressed…the why’s? I believe that in middle eastern culture hospitality dictates that guests be defended no matter the cost. Perhaps Lots offer was empty since he knew the city men had desires for the men, not the women? Perhaps he sensed the guests were angelic and put Gods angels before his family? Who knows how many times God tried to woo her? I don’t know…just ideas. But this I do know for sure, I can trust God’s character and what transpired was fair…even if I don’t get it. He does.
I have left homes I never thought I would leave because God broke the emotional bond I had with those places. He has done it with people. To leave my children would be heart wrenching. I trust He would give me the strength to do what I am called to do. On my own, I am sunk. Praise God I am not on my own!
No one was good but Lot, Lot seemed kind of slow to me, he could not make up his mind. Not a good leader , maybe he was loving and kind, but where was the concern for his children ? and remember how many people left with Lot when him and Abraham seperated ? – I think the Angels were probably shaking their heads , who would ask when knowing complete destruction was coming if they could stay in another town ? For me my children would be the hardest to leave if it was a forever decision. God gave me 4 children and took back 2 -I cannot wait until I can see them together. Liz I am so thankful that we serve such a wonderful mighty God who decides all of lifes decisions for us. And everything is how God ordains it, he is in control .
“I am not my own, I was bought with a price.” That is the verse that tore through my mind as I began to respond to your question. So, my “not looking back” has to do with a possible move away from my home, my family, my friends, our community, my aging parents. My better half (my sweet husband) is from a small town and dreams of owning a farm with cows, horses, dogs. etc.. and so do our girls (7,9 &11). But what would that life mean for me? Am I allowed to leave my aging parents or follow what God may be calling our family to do? And what would it look like to live in his mom’s community, church, school, etc…Lord, I have to lay it all in your hands. And NOT look back!
This weeks discussion right on time for me. I am a giver and have no problem letting things go. I will empty my home out for you because I know God has more. So of all the keys on the ring, I find that giving up the people key has been my struggle. Holding on to people while they struggle to be free. Not because I don’t care or love them but it is because I do. Being a single parent and desiring a life partner, I have had to constantly remind myself that no matter how much I love this person and want them to be apart of my life forever, including my son, God loves them more and I must give up the key of attachment. This is harder done than said, but hey, I’m still a work in progress. The scripture that supports my personal revelation is found in Isaiah 43:18-19(NET), “Don’t remember these earlier events;don’t recall these former events.“Look, I am about to do something new.Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness.
The hardest thing for me would be to leave my husband, but I won’t say no!
Wow….this is a question that we don’t want to think about! Mine would be husband, kids (even though they’re grown!), future grandkids, church, job, house. Liz, I wrote this down in my journal: “Lord remind me that any future You’ve designed for me is better than everything I leave behind”. This is my prayer today! Thanks Liz – as always you’ve shared the wisdom God has given you and it has hit the spot!
First, thanks for pointing out the seven ways that God rescued Lot & his family.
What a tough question! This is something I’ve been thinking about recently as the same basic issue has come up in FOLLOW ME and MULTIPLY studies with which I’ve been participating. I’ve been wondering if part of the hardness or the issue is our choice/control in the issue. For instance, I agree it would be hardest to leave family (husband & children), but my daughter has chosen a traveling profession, so I have to deal with it. Leaving my home would be difficult, but when we evacuated in anticipation of hurricanes, the issue was not as tough as my concern of needing to downsize/rightsize in the coming years. So it would seem Mrs. Lot’s decision would have been somewhat easier since it was to avoid pending disaster & was really outside of her control.
dang it all–hard to be human then, and hard to be human now. BUT GOD… !! Let’s really stay close in His arms!
the hardest for me to leave behind would be my children. We just had a sermon on leaving people, places, and things – Jesus asked his disciples to “come; follow me.”
Thank you, Liz, for always giving us food for thought. It would be terrible to leave the kids/hubby, but, I would take the angel’s hand, and hope he had a box of tissues for the tears sure to flow! xo
I have had to leave alot of homes behind in the last 10 years due to illness and an unsettled heart. Leaving behind a house you thought was your dream home was hard and there are still times I look back with regret and “what ifs”. The hardest though was leaving family. I pray that I don’t have to leave again and that I will stop looking back and trust the Lord for what is coming ahead of me! As I say that I know I also need to be ready to do God’s will as it is not about me!
Porn addiction and multiple affairs put an end to 22 years of marriage, and now as a single mom, life looks very different that what I was expecting it to at this point. And God is asking me to follow HIM, move forward, HEAL. And even after all I’ve been through, all my children have suffered I can honestly say the temptation to look back is strong and must be laid at the foot of the cross daily. No, I don’t want to return to the mess I was in when I left. God doesn’t want that either for He delivered me miraculously from that evil place. BUT, I tend to want to look back to catch a glimpse of what I THOUGHT I had in my life – a good, loving marriage to a man that would fight for me and my sons to restore our family. You can’t see what wasn’t there to begin with.
So, I must look to God ALONE to guide me, revleal areas of needed repentance, for wisdom to make right decisions for myself and my sons, for EVERYTHING. Christ is enough for me is a chorus we sing at church – may that be true in my life so that I will have to strength to move forward and never look back.
Dear Kim, you are on the right path now and that path leads to eternity with the Lord. Always remember satan tempts us and reminds us if we are not worthy etc. God loves you and you are not in this battle alone, ever. I’m proud of you giving your testimony here and our life belongs to Him. He will never condemn you but reach out in loving arms and put good people in your life. Keep following Him Kim….God bless, Debbie B.
More than “‘what I would leave behind for God if he asked me to”– ‘what I got in reading this is what are we holding onto that keeps us from following God the way he want’s us too–what ‘sin’ are we not able to give up for God and when we do— can we” not look back”. Thank you Liz for this study
Good comment & insight!
This chapter hit me between the eyebrows. My husband is currently working out of town and in a year, some decisions are going to have to be made about moving. I simply to do not want to leave my fitness ministry. Just thinking about it makes me so very sad. But I know that my family is priority over my ministry/side business. Walking away without looking back at our life here in North Carolina with our friends, family and CONNECTIONS makes me shutter:( However, I do NOT want to be a pillar of salt. If God calls us to move, this sista is gonna have to put on her big girl panties and DON’t LOOK BACK!
AMEN SIS.!!
Greetings,
I would miss praying for the lost in my family and friends. That to me would be hard
giving up that prayer for them. I have lost in the last couple years my mom, sister and
dear, dear friends and when death comes you truly see what you have is just “stuff” and truly the only thing you will take is what you did for the Lord. Being human it is hard to move on when we are in our comfort areas but God calls us out of our comfort sometimes to move on for Him.
My sweet 15 year old daughter, who has significant special needs, will be the hardest to walk away from. And in a way I believe God is asking me to walk away–eventually–as my husband and I find a home she can call her own. Oh, how my heart will be torn. But I know without a doubt, this will be best. The question I sometimes ponder is why God gave me a daughter who will always need me only to impress upon my heart that I must leave her. But for His strength…
My daughters, husband, sisters, parents and nephew will be the hardest to leave behind. This reminds me of what little time is left to pray for their salvation and ensure each of us is living our lives for the Lord so when that day comes, none of us will look back.
Oh, Lizzie, all of the things are just that, things. I’ve suffered some serious losses in life and the more you lose the more you realize that God is the one you need to cling to. Losing the people in my life would be the hardest: children, friends, and lets not forget the four footed loved ones! But in the end, He is the where we need to keep our eye. He is our hope and our salvation.
The one thing that I never would have wanted to let go was the walk my husband & I had with the Lord. A couple of years ago though that was taken from me and I have continued to look back these past 2 years. Constantly looking back to what had been, to me, a beautiful Christian walk with our Lord and Savior. I kept thinking “Father, surely our walk with you was the right thing, bring it back.” This study has shown me that I need to let that “Walk” go because God has a New Walk, a Better Walk up ahead for us. Wow, Thank you Father for this revelation and Thank you Liz for being obedient to Him in doing this study!
Hi again…it has been a few long weeks of work, and now I have my quiet time to catch up on my devotional readings…I LOVE this book! Anyway, to answer your question, Liz, the hardest things for me to leave behind would be my husband, children, and family members. God has truly placed some wonderful people in my life, and even though I sometimes forget to thank Him for EVERYTHING about them every day, I do love them, and would miss them dearly if anyone of them left me (I still have all of my kids at home….for now…). But, then I remember that God tells us that even though He blesses us, we must know that they are only temporary. I guess I can relate to how Lot’s wife felt…and know that I should know better…but because of sin, I don’t. Thanks God, for all of my blessings…help me remember that they are temporal!
I struggled a lot with this story. I even told my mom that if this was the first story I was told about God, that I would probably not want to be a Christian. He seems cruel in this story. I know Lot’s wife disobeyed which is a big deal, but we don’t know why. A big part of me thinks that it had nothing to do with stuff. I think she looked back out of compassion and sadness, which is a woman thing. But that’s something that God put in us, so why would she be punished for it? I know God doesn’t make mistakes, that He isn’t cruel or uncompassionate, but this story doesn’t seem to scream those things to me. It’s just a tough story for me.
As far as leaving behind something, this will sound crazy, but for me it would be my flute. I use it as a worship tool. When I play it, I pray before I start that the angels will guide my fingers and that every note brings Him honor and glory. He allowed me to teach myself how to play and I did it with choruses and hymns. So, when I play I really feel like I’m sitting in His throne room, at His feet playing with all my heart the notes that bring Him glory! I’ve literally prayed that He could make an exception and let me bring that with me. I know it’s crazy, but it’s really what I want to take with me.
Family and my best friend would be the people I wouldn’t want to leave. The worst part is that I’m not so sure that I wouldn’t turn around out of sadness and compassion for those left behind.
I’d be willing to bet that Jesus is going to have you your own music room FILLED with flutes of the best kind in your mansion that He’s already gone on ahead and started preparing for you! 🙂
As far as understanding this story goes, I guess just try to keep in mind that God DID try to save them (at least 7 times, as Liz pointed out above), and she STILL disobeyed a command from the God who loved her and desired to save her.
Hopefully this helps some! God bless, and good luck with all of your beautiful flute-playing!
I’m not very attached to anything or anyone (besides my husband and children.) I FEEL like if God were to ask me to walk away from any material possession, place, or relationship now, I could do so pretty easily. However, never having been put into the position, I’m really not 100% sure how I would respond or feel. I believe I would immediately pray for God’s strength to help guide me and pull me away if I began feeling doubtful or forlorn about leaving. He did it with Lot; I’m sure He’d do it with me, too! 🙂