When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
-Genesis 19:15-16
I have heard and read the account of Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah more times than I can name. Many times the speaker highlights Lot's wife - how she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. That is a huge part of the account, but I was reading this passage over the weekend and something new jumped out at me. Look at verse 16: And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
The very first part of that passage leaped off the page: and while he lingered. Lot lingered. He did not want to leave. Linger is defined as "to remain or stay on in a place longer than is usual or expected, as if from reluctance to leave" (dictionary.com). Lot did not want to leave. This place was filled with perversion and wickedness, but Lot did not want to leave it. The angel has told him that God is about to destroy the city, but Lot still lingers. He lingers to the point that the angel has to grab him by the hand and pull him and his family out. He is literally drug out of the city he knows is about to be destroyed.
Could it be, dear friend, that you have lingered to long in a place that God is trying to snatch you out of? It could be a physical place like a job or a church, but I want to speak more specifically to mental and spiritual places. Could it be that you have been stuck in a destructive mindset that God is trying to deliver you from? Are you stuck in past hurts and rejections? Are you lingering in offense? Sometimes things happen in our marriages that cause us to linger. You can recognize it with phrases such as "remember when" or "the last time this happened". Sometimes things happen that we can't seem to move from without divine assistance -- abuse, betrayal, lost opportunities, grief. These are the things that cause our guard to come up or cause us to build walls to defend ourselves. We think we are saving ourselves, but we are really trapping ourselves.
Lot lingered, but God was so merciful that He still saved him. I think God wants to do the same for us. Perhaps you can view this blog today as God's lovingkindness highlighting an area that you have lingered in for too long. Something may have happened to you this year that caused you to get stuck. It may have hurt so bad that it paralyzed you. Maybe now you look at everything through the lens of that hurt. Today is a good day to realize that you have stayed in that place too long. God is sending me today to tell you to get out of that place, that mindset, before it destroys you, your relationships, or your family. That's what happened to Lot's family. Lot lingered, but his wife was stuck. She was turned into a pillar of salt, and it caused her family to have to move on without her. This led to incest between the father and daughters, and many other destructive habits down the family line. All of this could have been avoided if Lot and his wife would have moved on from Sodom and Gomorrah in unity...if they would have left that place willingly...if they would not have lingered too long.
I pray as this year closes that God will show you where you have lingered too long, and may He give you the strength you need to move forward. May He send diving help to snatch you out of what has been set up to destroy you. Don't linger! What God has for you is always going to be better than what you left.
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