As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, "On your way!
Take with you your wife and your two daughters who are here,
or you will be swept away in the punishment of Sodom."
When the LORD is calling us to move we must not hesitate. Hesitation is dangerous. Perhaps he is calling us to make a difficult journey. We may not think we even have the strength to do what the LORD is asking.
But I cannot flee to the hills to keep the disaster from overtaking me,
and so I shall die.
Without God's help we wouldn't even know that we need to move. Without his help the journey may not be possible. But we don't have to make it without his help. If we can't make it to the destination to which the LORD ultimately calls us he will give us shelter on the way.
Well, then," he replied,
"I will also grant you the favor you now ask.
I will not overthrow the town you speak of.
Hurry, escape there!
The important thing is our relationship with the LORD. It is only this that can keep us safe. We may still suffer even in relationship with the LORD. But we can spare ourselves much unnecessary pain and sorrow by listening to him and following his guidance. We really need to see the attitude of Lot in ourselves. We need to recognize it so that we can uproot it. The woe is me, I can't do it so I'm just going to die here attitude is something we can't give any room within us to find purchase. We wind up experiencing all sorts of unnecessary and unhelpful suffering unless we uproot this attitude. Instead of that attitude let us declare with the psalmist:
My foot stands on level ground;
in the assemblies I will bless the LORD.
Of course the journey is difficult. The fear the we can't do it is difficult to overcome. We need to recognize the power of the one who journeys with us. He inspires us to be courageous even with fire and brimstone behind us. He inspires peace even amidst violent storms.
The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?"
If we come to Jesus and take his yoke upon us we find rest even amidst the storms. He makes us able to stand firm even on journeys we think impossible.
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