Don't look back.....
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"But Lot's wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt." Genesis 19:26
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of the most fascinating stories of the Old Testament. I am so intrigued by this entire chapter. There are many things that leave me scratching my head in this particular story, but I am left seeing the Lord's goodness and faithfulness in a staggering way.
For the last week or so, since reading this chapter, I cannot quit thinking about Lot's wife. God chose to save Lot and his family. He sent His angels to give them specific instructions to flee the wretched city that He was about to demolish.
God was very clear in His instructions:
"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
God clearly warned the family not to look back.
Lot's wife looked back. And she was turned into a big pile of salt the second she did.
Why did she look back? Why in the world would she risk the safety of God's leading to look back on a burning city?
Good question. For all of us.
Why do we continually look back? Why do we go back to the past in our minds and re-live things? Why do we long for the good old days? Why do we drive ourselves crazy with "what could have been?"
My thought is that the enemy is ever so diligent in reminding us to look back so that we won't move forward with the Goodness of God.
Our flesh wants what we know. What we knew.
Yet, our spirits are craving to go with Him. To move forward. To not look back.
Our flesh often wins this battle. We don't even realize we have succumbed to looking back until our contentment is gone and our peace is shattered.
The Bible says that the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God. [1 Corinthians 3:19] So, the world tells us to hang onto our youth, invest in the anti-aging movement, cling to what you have, and preserve ourselves at any cost.
Yet, we all know that with each passing day, each new wrinkle, each new birthday, we are one day closer to Eternity with Him. Each day that time moves us forward, we are getting closer to seeing our Lord face to Precious Face.
The world wants to stop time, look back, and reclaim time.
God wants us moving forward. Focused on His Face. Not looking back.
Paul teaches us in Philippians 3:3"But this one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead."
When we continue to look back, we are questioning God's goodness and faithfulness for our present and our future.
Lot's wife would have been led to a new place to start over. A beautiful new town to begin again.
Instead, she doubted God's goodness and looked back. She just needed one more glance at her old life. And it cost her everything.
Whatever you face today, remember God is Good. What He has prepared for you will blow your precious mind if you go with Him. Don't live in the regret, heartache, grief, or hopelessness. There's nothing worth looking back upon when compared to the Goodness of what He has prepared for you.
Each step we take forward brings us closer to Him.
"Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later."Romans 8:18
When you feel overwhelmed, afraid, fearful, regretful, grief-stricken, lonely, or depressed today, I want you to say, "God is good."
You may have to say it a million time, but say it anyway. God is good.
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:1
no looking back,
jill
Want to receive SHINE by email? Go here.
"But Lot's wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt." Genesis 19:26
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of the most fascinating stories of the Old Testament. I am so intrigued by this entire chapter. There are many things that leave me scratching my head in this particular story, but I am left seeing the Lord's goodness and faithfulness in a staggering way.
For the last week or so, since reading this chapter, I cannot quit thinking about Lot's wife. God chose to save Lot and his family. He sent His angels to give them specific instructions to flee the wretched city that He was about to demolish.
God was very clear in His instructions:
"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
God clearly warned the family not to look back.
Lot's wife looked back. And she was turned into a big pile of salt the second she did.
Why did she look back? Why in the world would she risk the safety of God's leading to look back on a burning city?
Good question. For all of us.
Why do we continually look back? Why do we go back to the past in our minds and re-live things? Why do we long for the good old days? Why do we drive ourselves crazy with "what could have been?"
My thought is that the enemy is ever so diligent in reminding us to look back so that we won't move forward with the Goodness of God.
Our flesh wants what we know. What we knew.
Yet, our spirits are craving to go with Him. To move forward. To not look back.
Our flesh often wins this battle. We don't even realize we have succumbed to looking back until our contentment is gone and our peace is shattered.
The Bible says that the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God. [1 Corinthians 3:19] So, the world tells us to hang onto our youth, invest in the anti-aging movement, cling to what you have, and preserve ourselves at any cost.
Yet, we all know that with each passing day, each new wrinkle, each new birthday, we are one day closer to Eternity with Him. Each day that time moves us forward, we are getting closer to seeing our Lord face to Precious Face.
The world wants to stop time, look back, and reclaim time.
God wants us moving forward. Focused on His Face. Not looking back.
Paul teaches us in Philippians 3:3"But this one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead."
When we continue to look back, we are questioning God's goodness and faithfulness for our present and our future.
Lot's wife would have been led to a new place to start over. A beautiful new town to begin again.
Instead, she doubted God's goodness and looked back. She just needed one more glance at her old life. And it cost her everything.
Whatever you face today, remember God is Good. What He has prepared for you will blow your precious mind if you go with Him. Don't live in the regret, heartache, grief, or hopelessness. There's nothing worth looking back upon when compared to the Goodness of what He has prepared for you.
Each step we take forward brings us closer to Him.
"Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later."Romans 8:18
When you feel overwhelmed, afraid, fearful, regretful, grief-stricken, lonely, or depressed today, I want you to say, "God is good."
You may have to say it a million time, but say it anyway. God is good.
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:1
no looking back,
jill
