Running with Her Back to the Lord

His family ran to the mountains for safety. He had been warned by God’s angels that Sodom was to be destroyed almost immediately. His two married daughters were with him; both husbands stayed behind. His name was lot and his wife was also with him...sort of. She was physically moving in the right direction, just as the Lord directed. Yet her heart was still in Sodom.

Perhaps she longed for friendships left behind, her neighborhood, or the shops in the town’s marketplace. Perhaps she longed for her house or the creature comforts she was forced to abandon. Perhaps she thought about their family’s wealth in money, animals, grain, and other belongings that would be forfeited.

Is it possible that she felt a degree of anger? 

Having been uprooted so abruptly and being forced to leave her life behind, she may have been angry at Lot, or even God. Whatever she felt, it was more than she could bear...she turned and looked back.

We remember Lot’s wife...pillar of salt.

When a person turns toward one thing, he must turn away from another. For Lot’s wife, turning toward Sodom meant turning away from her family, from safety, but more importantly, turning away from God himself.

Some Christians walk like Lot’s wife. They think they walk with the Lord. They intend to walk with the Lord. They appear to walk with the Lord. They appear to love fellow Christians. They do religious things and speak religious words. Yet, their hearts are facing a different direction. As a result they naturally walk with their backs to the Lord while facing their heart’s desire, their own personal Sodom.

Lot’s wife may illustrate people in general. A person’s head can turn this way or that, yet eventually, every individual will turn to face the object that is of greatest value in their life. It will become evident in the way that a person spends his time and money, in his conversation, in the places he goes, in his entertainment choices, and in the choices that influence the overall direction of his life. Ultimately, every individual will square his body and turn to directly face his god/God.

A Christian may reflect on his life by looking back from time to time. However, the one whose face is forever turned to Christ turns back only to reflect; only to learn, never to yearn.

To remain faithful to God we must individually make a conscious decision each day to set our gaze on Jesus. We do this by listening to the voice of our God in the scriptures. We do this by talking with Him in prayer, leaving our worries and weaknesses at His feet, and by asking for his assistance to fill the voids in our lives. We do this by associating with His people. We do this by keeping our future expectation (hope) in the forefront of our mind.

Facing our God, our simple and willful cry…

“I surrender all.”

Mark Stinnett
November 12, 2023

(Read the biblical account of Lot and his family and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.)