{"id":25373,"date":"2020-03-18T23:15:48","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T22:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=25373"},"modified":"2020-03-18T23:15:48","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T22:15:48","slug":"when-looking-back-can-be-disastrous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=25373","title":{"rendered":"When looking back can be disastrous"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tope Banso<\/strong>
\nDON\u2019T LOOK BACK
\n\u201cBut Lot’s wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and she became a pillar of salt\u201d (Genesis 19:26 New Living Translation).
\nRemember Lot\u2019s wife. Probably, the deceitfulness of riches caused Mrs. Lot to look back, instead of focusing on the journey to escape the fire that was to consume Sodom and Gomorrah. I can\u2019t find any other explanation for her action.
\nMark 4:19 warns against the worries of life, deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things entering a man\u2019s heart to choke the Word such that it becomes unfruitful. Jesus warned us to remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32).
\nThe angels, who came to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, said to Lot, \u201cHave you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city \u2014 take them out of this place! For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it\u201d (Genesis 19:12-13 New King James Version).
\nVerse 15 says, \u201cWhen the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, \u2018Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city\u2019\u201d (New King James Version).
\nBut these angels had to drag Lot and his family out of the city, because Lot was lingering; he was foot dragging; he was hesitating. Verse 16 says, \u201cWhen Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful\u201d (New Living Translation).
\nThe entire life investment of Lot and the family was in Sodom. They were about to lose everything; therefore, they were unwilling to escape from the city that God was about to destroy.
\nThe angels (men) told Lot (and the family), \u201cEscape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed\u201d (verse 17 New King James Version). But Lot pleaded to be allowed to flee to a near city, Zoar, on the pretext that he couldn’t escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtook him and he died. The angels still granted his request though after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Lot was afraid to continue to live there. He fled with his two daughters to the mountains.
\nHowever, before then, and as they were escaping from Sodom, verse 26 says, \u201cBut Lot’s wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and she became a pillar of salt\u201d (New Living Translation). This is unfortunate!
\nWhy did she look back despite God\u2019s mercy that Lot and his family had received? (Verse 18). God had exempted them from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as a result of Abraham\u2019s intercession (verses 16-33). Evidently, it was because the treasure of Lot\u2019s wife was in Sodom, and she couldn\u2019t help thinking about what she was going to leave behind \u2013 all lost. The consequence was that she became a pillar of salt. Mrs. Lot lost her treasure and lost her life!
\nThis is a lesson for everyone today, especially Christians who are entangled in the affairs of this world to the detriment of their souls. 2 Timothy 2:4-5 warns, \u201cAnd as Christ’s soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army\u201d (New Living Translation). As Jesus Christ said, what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul? What will he give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26).
\nHear Jesus\u2019 warning: \u201cWatch out! Don’t let me find you living in careless ease and drunkenness, and filled with the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, as in a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep a constant watch. And pray that, if possible, you may escape these horrors and stand before the Son of Man\u201d (Luke 21:34-36 New Living Translation). You may not be guilty of careless ease (carousing) and drunkenness, but what of the worries of life?
\nBy looking back, Lot\u2019s wife disqualified herself from salvation from the impending doom. Jesus says anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). Don\u2019t look back. And that\u2019s not talking about looking back physically. Don\u2019t look back in your heart. Don\u2019t look at any other thing; look unto Jesus the author and the finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). Set the LORD always before you (Psalm 16:8a).
\nLot\u2019s wife looked back and lost the salvation God had prepared for her. If you look back, you may go back to your former sins, to your old ways of life, to the sinful lifestyle you were delivered from. It will be like a dog returning to its vomit, and that\u2019s foolishness. \u201cAs a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly\u201d (Proverbs 26:11 New Living Translation).
\nRemember Lots wife. Anyone who returns to his vomit will wallow in it. \u201cLet her stagger and fall like a drunkard, for she has rebelled against the LORD. Moab will wallow in her own vomit, ridiculed by all\u201d (Jeremiah 48:26 New Living Translation). And the latter end of such a person shall be worse than the former (2 Peter 2: 20-22). That shall not be your portion.
\nThe children of Israel, in their hearts, turned back to Egypt (Exodus 32:1; Acts 7:39). Eventually, majority of them didn\u2019t make it to the Promised Land; they died in the wilderness because of their rebellion.
\nLot\u2019s wife should have put Sodom behind her; she shouldn’t have looked back. There are things you must put behind you if you must get to your Promised Land. Otherwise, they\u2019ll hinder you. Remember Lot\u2019s wife. You must forget the old city of sin and follow God to the new city He\u2019s prepared for you (Revelation 21:1, 22-27, 22:14-15; Isaiah 65:17, 66:22).
\nIf any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul had to forget some things behind him and pressed forward to those things which were ahead (Phiippians 3:13).
\nThe writer of the book of Hebrews says, “‘For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 20:38-39 New King James Version). Don’t draw back. Remember Lot\u2019s wife. Don\u2019t look back.
\nPRAYER POINT: I shall not look back. I receive the grace to follow Jesus to the end.<\/strong>
\nThis is wisdom for living, and it\u2019s worth sharing. Please share.
\n(For over 260 in-depth and insightful messages by T. O. Banso, visit: www.cedarministry.org).
\n\u25aa Banso, a pastor, heads Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.<\/strong>
\ncedarministryintl@yahoo.com, cedarministryng@gmail.com<\/strong>
\nTel No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523; WhatsApp No: +2349081295947<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tope Banso DON\u2019T LOOK BACK \u201cBut Lot’s wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and she became a pillar of salt\u201d (Genesis 19:26 New Living Translation). Remember Lot\u2019s wife. Probably, the deceitfulness of riches caused Mrs. Lot to look back, instead of focusing on the journey to escape the fire that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":25374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5772],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-faith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25373\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}