Remember Lot's Wife

by Xylia Sparks-Davis on 09/20/12

How many times have I been snatched out of danger by God only to run back in the fray myself?  I am so caught up in the drama of the moment that I cannot let go and move on.  I cannot see the big picture.  I have sabotaged my freedom and become frozen in place by the circumstances that have overtaken me.  I am a like a pillar of hardened salt – unyielding and unmovable.  I am trapped in the middle of a crisis where my presence was not necessary.

Remember Lot’s wife (Genesis 19)

Most of us know her as the woman captured forever as a pillar of salt near the coast of the Dead Sea.  She was the wife of Lot, the nephew of Abraham and Sarah.  When Abraham left homeland for promised one, they followed.  Abraham had initially chosen Lot as his heir, as Sarah wasinfertile.   Mr. and Mrs. Lot were to carry on the family line.  Once Lot became head of the tribe, his wife would have had the same prominence and importance that Sarah held.  This future was dashed when Abraham and Lot parted company over grazing rights and Lot moved his family near the five cities of the plain, particularly the fields near Sodom.

Sodom - a new place that brought with it new challenges and opportunities.  Mrs. Lot who was once one woman among many in the camp of Abraham, was now the lead woman in a household of her own.  Sarah was the “queen of the tribe” in Mrs. Lot’s old home – the authority among the women.  Mrs. Lot now had autonomy in her new life and no longer had to submit to a matriarch as to how her home should be run.  We don’t know what Mrs. Lot’s life was like in her new home.  She could have thrived in her new environment; climbed the social ladder; made killer deals in the food and textile markets; led the PTA; became a member of the Junior League or Jack and Jill.  However, she learned how to fit in; she appeared to be enjoying the changes that Sodom brought to her life.

The night the angels came to warn her family of the sudden destruction aimed for her town altered Mrs. Lot’s life on numerous levels.   Sodom had a crisis.  They had pained the heart of God with their actions and would be destroyed.  However, God had not lumped Lot’s family in with rest of the town. They were in Sodom but not of Sodom. God had provided a way out for them and sent an angelic escort for them to leave town.  They had just one key instruction “Do not look back.” 

I often wonder what was swirling around in Mrs. Lot’s mind as she walked away from Sodom and as she turned back. 

Sure, I’m alive, but is merely living enough?  I had finally carved a niche out for myself.   I’m walking out of Sodom and leaving behind, my circle, my status, and my friends.  All the work I have put into this new life is gone in a moment.  I have grown accustomed to my life and did not want to change again.  Now I have to go back. Go back to where?  Crawling back to Abraham as a failure from our destroyed town asking for a place his table? Go back to Sarah and submit to her leadership over the women of the tribe?  Maybe Lot won’t go to Abraham for help.  Maybe we’ll start afresh in a new town instead….Starting from scratch with limited resources and no name of importance in a new place?  This…this is too much…I have to get back to what I know…to what feels comfortable...I don’t want to move…I don’t want to change…I don’t want to grow…I…have…to …get…back…… (turn)

…And then she was salt.  Mrs. Lot was hardened in her resolve not to change and refused to fully release her fears to the God who rescued her.  She had just been snatched from a horrible fate. Sodom would have been a smoldering pile of rubble in just a few hours. She had escaped the crisis. However, she did not trust that the same God that had pulled her out of the drama would also have a bigger and better plan for her life.  Instead, her heart clung to what it was leaving - no matter how high the cost.  She became monument to the price of being unwilling to change.

When crisis comes and you think you don’t have the strength or the courage to change, remember Lot’s wife, release your fears and move forward.

Until next time,

Xylia

Luke 17:32, 33: Remember Lot’s wife. “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 

Comments (1)

1.Antannia Aguilar said on 9/20/12 - 04:02PMThis was very good. Never thought about her story in detail like that. Very eye opening.

If I could just touch the hem....

by Xylia Sparks-Davis on 09/13/12

Sometimes it feels that God is so far away. Mentally I know that He is right next to me in every situation and every crisis.  Emotionally the problems of my life seem so heavy that He feels light years away and I need to cut through the darkness just to get near Him and feel Him close to me. 

 I wonder if this how the woman with the issue of blood felt in Luke Chapter 8.  She was overloaded with medical bills, a seemingly incurable disorder that her doctors could not identify and one dashed hope of getting well after another.  She had tried everything she could think of to get well and restore her finances but nothing worked.  She hoped that tomorrow would bring a better day and sadly awakened to frustration the next morning.  Darkness was looming in her life with no end in sight.

 Her blood flow isolated her.  She was ritually unclean according to the rules that governed her community which limited what she could do and where she could go. She could not participate in corporate worship or temple ceremonies.  She could not start or add children to her family.  She should not have even been in the crowd surrounding Jesus that day. 

She was holding onto one thing – Faith.  The faith that her life would not always look like this; that God had more for her than merely being  bound by sickness, financial trouble and isolation.  She realized that though her problems were not solved, God was still with her.  If she could reach out and hope one more time...if she could just touch Jesus her life could be transformed.   She looked beyond this season of her life and focused on where she wanted to be – healed and whole on every level.  This is the woman who we find the crowd on that day seeking Jesus, a woman who was tired being bound; who knew there was more for her; and had just enough strength to reach out her hand.  One more time, she stretches out her hand and grabbed the fringes of Jesus’ prayer shawl.  Immediately healing flowed from His wings and she was healed.  Restoration would be the next chapter of her life.

So the next time you and I have a crisis that makes it feel that God is not near we need to press in closer; hold on to our faith in Him and reach.  Restoration can be our next chapter too.

Until next time

 Xylia

A Worthy Woman...a look at Proverbs 31

by Xylia Sparks-Davis on 09/11/12

I have always been in awe of the worthy woman of Proverbs 31. She is amazing. She has dazzling energy and stamina and seems to have the ability to consistently make wise decisions. She is also quite overwhelming to gaze upon sometimes with all things she is able to do. She is an able confidant. Her husband trusts her implicitly. She has her own clothing line. She negotiates trade agreements. She is a great cook; her home is clean and her household is well managed. Her spouse is well respected in the community. Her children praise her. She has figured out how to balance work and family and seems not to be stressed out. Her husband respects and values her opinion. She is wise and consistently knows just what to do and say in any situation.

Looking at her example use to wear me out. Can I really do all of this at once? This is a lot pressure. Until the Lord made it clear to me that this was not a day in Mrs. Proverbs 31's life but a reflection upon the seasons of her life. God was not trying to tell me that I had to be superwoman, batgirl or any other action hero to have a successful family, business or life. Actually Mrs. Proverbs 31 is a lot like you and me. She is not perfect like I thought, but striving everyday to walk in her Master's footsteps. She is setting goals, walking through adversity, and she is moving forward. She is doing amazing things, but she has help. The Lord is her strength. Her wisdom does not come from thin air, but from being tried in the fire of life with God at her side; and if He walked with her, He will surely walk beside you and me. Through Him we can do everything we have been called and chosen to do, one step at a time. The journey with Him is just as important as the destination.

Until next time, 

Xylia

mimi s said on 9/13/12 - 07:45AMI think younger women are smarter.Choice is the operative word here,we can make smarter God led choices and please the Lord our families and ourselves.