‘Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley!’ Genesis 19:17 NLT
Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He sent angels to warn Lot and his family to get out of town. When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, ‘“Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!’… But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.’ (Genesis 19:17, 26 NLT) By looking back, Lot’s wife disobeyed a direct instruction from God. As a result, she died—stuck in the past. There are three important lessons here for you.
(1) ‘Don’t… stop anywhere in the valley!’ We all go through valley experiences in life, but we must not get stuck in them or set up residence in them.
(2) ‘And don’t look back.’ The reason the windscreen in a car is larger than the rear-view mirror is because the driver supposed to spend most of the time looking forward, and only periodically glancing backwards in order to keep moving safely and reach the destination. Get the idea?
(3) ‘Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!’ When someone hurts you, you have two choices: take the high road of forgiveness or the low road of retaliation. When you take the low road, you begin to die spiritually. But when you take the high road, you grow stronger, wiser, and more mature. When you get stuck in the past, it’s always at the expense of the future. Always! God has better days and better things in store for you. So, forgive, forget, and move forwards.
SoulFood: 1 Sam 8–10, Lk 2:1–15, Ps 64, Prov 16:27–30
Renungan Hari Ini [The Word for Today] is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©