But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. – Genesis 19:26

In Genesis 19, God is pushed to unleash destruction on the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sinful acts. Two angels appeared to Lot, his wife, and their two daughters, advising them to leave town before destruction comes. As they fled, Lot’s wife disobeyed the angels’ command to not look back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.” When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.  As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” – Genesis 19:16-17

More often than not, Lot’s wife gets the stick for being the disobedient one who looked back when she was instructed not to, but the fact of the matter is that many of us in her position would’ve been tempted to look back as well. A friend of mine always says that not looking back isn’t so difficult until God says so, this is because at His very word the forces of darkness combine to tempt you out of obedience, out of His will.

Many of us today may be fighting temptations because of a direction God has given us. We may not be Lot’s wife, but many of us are fighting off the temptation of lust, money, drunkenness, homosexuality, substance abuse, pornography, bad association etc. The only thing holding us down is the direction God has given us, and the instruction not to look back.

Scripture reminds us that the grace of God is sufficient for us, and is able to give us strength to fight off any temptation from the devil. Today, it is my prayer that the Lord gives us strength to keep pushing and not look back to the burning twin city. In Jesus name. Amen!