I was reading Genesis Chapter 19, and I came across the following verse. I’ve read this verse before. Yet, it never spoke to me like it did this time around.
In verses 16 and 17, the following occurs:
Lot was dragging his feet. The men grabbed Lot’s arm, and the arms of his wife and daughters—God was so merciful to them!—and dragged them to safety outside the city. When they had them outside, Lot was told, “Now run for your life! Don’t look back! Don’t stop anywhere on the plain—run for the hills or you’ll be swept away.”
A little backdrop to what is happening. God is going to destroy Sodom where Lot and his family live. Abraham had previously pleaded with God not to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham confronted him, “Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad?” Chapter 18
God said, “For the sake of only ten, I won’t destroy the city.”
Well, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, so we can deduct that God did not find ten good people in the city.
Two angels arrived to Sodom and told Lot to get his family out of there now! The angels said to “get your wife and two daughters out of here before it’s too late and your caught in the punishment of the city.”
But Lot was dragging his feet. And this is what is so powerful to me. Sometimes I worry that I’ll get it wrong. I won’t leave when God tells me to leave or I won’t stay when God says stay. I’m analytical so I have to weigh the pros and cons to everything before I make a move. But sometimes what looks like a con in the natural world is a pro in the spiritual world. I’m afraid I’ll miscalculate, overthink, or take the wrong next steps.
I’m afraid I’ll drag my feet. I often wonder if I already missed the mark somewhere. Especially as I wonder if marriage and motherhood is for me. Did I miss my husband somewhere? Did I turn him down when he asked me out?
But this verse gives me hope. Lot dragged his feet, but the two angels that God sent to Sodom grabbed Lot’s arm (and his wife and daughters’ arms) and dragged them to safety. God was so merciful to them!
So even when we get it wrong, God makes sure we get right. Even when we hesitate God will drag us (and our loved ones) to safety. That’s so encouraging to know.
We often hear the story of how Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. We get scared. One little mistake and it could be over for us.
I don’t know why Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt. But I know that God is merciful. He knows we’re human. He knows we’ll drag our feet sometimes. And even in all of our limitations, He knows how to get us to where He wants us to be.