Bible Reading
Genesis 19:15-26
Key Verse
Genesis 19:26 (KJV)
“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Reflection
As we know, there are things that are really difficult to leave, especially when we have invested so much in them. Over the last two days, we looked at the mercy God showed Lot while he lingered to leave the place where he had built his life, but which had been marked for destruction. Today, we zoom in on what happened on the way out.
The angels had already warned them to get out and not look back. The instruction was clear, as we see in verse 17. The danger was also clear.
Yet as they were leaving, “his wife looked back from behind him.”
Though she was physically leaving Sodom, she still turned toward it. And there is something sobering about that. She was going in the right direction, but she looked back toward the place God had told her to leave.
Sometimes we can do the same thing.
We stop the outward behavior but keep feeding the inward attachment. We say we have given our lives to Jesus and have forsaken the sins that held us back in the past, but somewhere in a corner of our hearts, we still desire them. On certain occasions, or when certain opportunities present themselves, we may even wish we had not repented yet.
I don’t know if you have ever felt this way: God rescued you from your old life, yet part of you still misses the life He rescued you from.
And as a result, our hearts go back to where we were saved from, and eventually, our eyes follow.
Maybe you have deleted the number but still hope they will call. Maybe you have walked away from something God convicted you about, but you still wonder what you are missing. Maybe you know that a certain habit is damaging your walk with God, yet part of you still misses what it gave you.
The problem is not always that we are physically going back. You have not gone back to them yet, but sometimes our hearts keep turning around.
God was not asking Lot’s wife merely to change her location. He was calling her to leave Sodom behind.
There are things you cannot carry with you, in your heart, as you follow God.
If God has made it clear that something must be left behind, do not keep romanticizing it. Do not keep feeding an attachment to what God has called you to forsake. It will not always be easy, but fixing your eyes on the One who has called you will help you keep moving forward.
You may feel the pull to look back today. But remember what you are looking toward and what God has already called you out of.
Sometimes moving forward with God means trusting Him enough to stop looking back.
Prayer
Father, search my heart and show me what I am still looking back at. Give me grace to release completely what You have told me to leave and to trust You with what lies ahead. Help me desire You more than the things You have called me to forsake. Amen.
Today’s Challenge
Read Genesis 19:15-26 again.
Notice the urgency of the angels’ instructions and the detail that Lot’s wife looked back.
Ask yourself: What have I physically left behind but still desire in my heart?
Bring that honestly before God. Ask Him to help you see what you need to stop looking back at. Then read the passage again, allowing its warning to speak to you.
Key Takeaway
If God has called you to leave something behind, trust Him enough to stop looking back.
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