Rev. J. Loren Russell
Genesis 19:17, 26 NKJV
“So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
The story of Lot is very interesting. Lot was Abraham’s nephew, the same Abraham who is the father of our faith, the one who fathered the “child of promise” at the age of one hundred, and took Lot with him when he left his hometown of Ur.
Abraham gave Lot the choice of which part of the land he wanted to live. Lot chose to live in the twin cities known as Sodom and Gomorrah. They were cities known for their sin and depravity. There came a time when the Lord’s fury was unleashed against those two cities. The Lord instructed Lot to get out of that town, take his family with him, and not to look back!
God didn’t say not to remember, but not to look back. He and his family needed to remember where they came from. They needed to remember so they could avoid the personal and collective mistakes made by their community as well as their own, but they were not to turn back. Apparently, Lot’s wife didn’t get that message and turned back. That simple act of turning back when she was specifically told not to, “turned her into a pillar of salt.” God had a plan for Lot and his family but turning back changed that plan. It no longer included Lot’s wife.
What a tragedy it is to be the cause of God changing his plans. Our future is ahead of us, not behind. We cannot go back to yesterday and we cannot go forward into tomorrow. We must remember our past and learn from it, live in the present and make the most of it, and plan for the future and take full advantage of it.
Don’t turn back!
Be Blessed!
Rev. J. Loren Russell is President/CEO of The JLR Company and The J. Loren R Consulting, LLC for Church Financial Strategy & Consulting, an associate minister at both Goodwill and The Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx, creator & host of “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” Mondays 8:00 – 10:00 PM on Facebook LIVE and author of Matters of Faith: The Book (eBook available at www.smashwords.com/books/view/993177)
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