Genesis 19:26
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Praise the Lord Beloved!!!
You know, releasing the familiar is tough. Changing careers or colleges or moving to a new city can take an emotional toll on us. It’s even more difficult to leave behind old habits, attitudes and behaviors.
Beloved, Lot’s wife wasn’t able to let go of her home in Sodom, even though God sent angels to warn her family to run for their lives because judgment was coming. In fact, the angels’ warnings included very serious commands as “Don’t look back” and “Don’t stop.”
Now, why in the world did this woman choose to stop and look back? Could it be that she loved the life she was leaving too much? Even though Sodom was overfilled with sin and immorality, corruption and sleaze. Apparently the dark and oppressive city was comfortably familiar to Lot’s wife.
Beloved, it’s difficult to leave the familiar behind. That fact is as true today as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction even when God himself is saying, “It’s time to move on.” If you’ve ever struggled with a destructive habit, you’ve felt the pull of the familiar, even as you’ve sensed God’s elbow in your side telling you to, “Move on now.” You’ve experienced the temptation to turn back just one more time, for one last look, one last taste, one last “fix” even as God has whispered, “Don’t look back.” Maybe you’ve agonized over a loved one’s downward spiral, desperately attempting to rescue them time and time again until finally God impressed upon you, “Stop. Let go.”
Unlike Lot’s wife, none of us has ever become a pillar of salt by turning back for one last glimpse. Yet we all struggle with the difficulties of releasing the old in order to grasp the new. I want you to take heart.
Beloved, God understands that releasing the familiar is hard. Yet God has called us to move on to new a life in Jesus Christ by releasing our old worldly lives, our old habits, our old dreams to boldly move forward without looking back.
“To God be the Glory”
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