Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He sent angels to warn Lot and his family to get out of town: ‘“Run for your lives!” [one warned]. “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’ (vv. 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 your car is larger than the rear-view mirror is because you’re supposed to spend most of your time looking through that one, and only periodically glancing in the other in order to make corrections so that you can continue to move forwards safely and reach your destination. Getting 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 or the low road. When you take the low road and retaliate, something within you begins 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.
