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!”
Genesis 19:16-17
Sometimes the hardest thing for us to do is leave what we know, even if the right thing to do is ahead of us. But in close second, is not turning back to what we know when the road ahead looks hard or the road behind keeps calling our name.
The LORD came to Abraham to warn him of the destruction He was about to do to Sodom, the city Lot called home. Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy Sodom if he found 50, 40, 30, 20, even 10 faithful and righteous people there. God loved Abraham and agreed to this plea. But when the angels of the Lord went into the city to warn Lot, they realized the only faithful ones there were Lot, his wife, and his daughters. The angels immediately told the family to leave the city, for it was about to be destroyed. But Lot hesitated, causing the angels to grab them by the hand and pull them away to safety.
Sodom was an evil city filled with every sin of the earth. Just like with Cain and Abel, the earth cried out to God, and the Lord decided to destroy the city and all that was within it. Lot, however, was found faithful, and had grown accustomed to the ways of Sodom. He was already preparing the marriages of his daughters to the men of the city and really didn’t want to leave anytime soon. But God had greater plans for Lot and called him away to save him from the destruction He was about to accomplish.
As Lot and his family are literally pulled out of the city by the angels of the Lord, the angels told them to run far away and never look back. The angels knew that if Lot or anyone in his family looked back they would be drawn into wanting what they once had even if God’s future plans were better. But Lot’s wife couldn’t part with her past and she turned around.
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Genesis 19:26
Lot’s wife was so consumed with what once was that she couldn’t see what could be.
Instead of being the salt of the earth and spreading the goodness of God to all the people she encountered, she became the salt with no saltiness, useless, falling to the earth right where she was.
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Matthew 5:13
In every life, there will be things, places, and people God says we need to let go of. He desires that we rid ourselves of the things that aren’t glorifying and growing our walk with Him. We may feel or hear His call and walk right out of the situation, or we may be like Lot and need to be guided with a heavy hand. But honestly, that’s the easy part. The hard part comes when you are in the middle of that something new and you begin to think back to what once was. Or things get tough in the new place and you remember the best bits of what your past was like and you want to turn around.
Maybe you’re thinking: it was easier back then, I used to have so much fun, they used to spoil me, those were the good ole days. But really, God never takes us from what is good, he uses the good we learned to bring us to something even better.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
When God takes you from one thing, He is leading you to something even better, somewhere else.
So keep running. Don’t look back or dwell in the past, think back to see where you’ve come from and see where God has been at work in you. He’s up to something good for you and He won’t stop until it’s completed.
“In all my prayers for all you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work In you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:4-6
I love my salt and all, but I love it for its saltiness.
So as God is doing a work in me and moving me from one place to the next, I will keep running forward toward Jesus, using the past to season my future and allowing the salt to lead others to Him.
Running 2 Fly 