Remember Lot’s Wife!
But Lot lingered; and the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him; and they took him out, and set him outside of the city. As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” — Genesis 19:16
Remember Lot's wife! Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it. — Luke 17:32-33
Author
Nancy G. Marquez
Summary: Remembering Lot’s wife does not mean living bound to the past, but learning from her disobedience. When she looked back, she became motionless: her body, soul, and spirit ceased to respond. Her condition represents the believer or the church that, although saved by the mighty hand of God, does not obey the guidance of his Spirit. We too can become paralyzed by clinging to material and fleeting things, remaining connected to old wounds or actions, walking out of harmony with God, and harboring hidden agendas. We must trust that the same hand that saves will also provide, live with integrity, enjoy the present, and move forward encouraged toward the future.
Being connected to the past keeps us from enjoying the present, much less puts us in a good position to launch ourselves into the future. Sadly, we often live with a present-day calendar, but the date on our emotional calendar points to earlier dates, which is called the “past.” On one occasion, our Lord Jesus Christ issued a warning, recorded in Luke 17:32, that we should remember Lot’s wife. Why should this woman not be forgotten, but rather remembered? What should we remember about this woman? The answer is simple: We must remember and not forget that this woman became a pillar of salt.
Allow me to present some significant principles to you:
- Becoming a pillar of salt means that she became an immobile woman; her body was paralyzed.
- Becoming a pillar of salt means that she became a woman without feelings, affection, or emotions, without heart or mind, without a soul.
- Becoming a pillar of salt means that she became a woman without a spirit to praise God, who in His mercy had rescued her and her family.
When she became a pillar of salt, her body, soul, and spirit ceased to respond.
Lot’s wife represents the believer, the church, who is delivered from eternal punishment and saved by the mighty hand of God, but who becomes A PILLAR OF SALT and does not respond in obedience to the directives of the Spirit of God.
Why does this woman, why does the believer, why does the church fall into this condition?
- We fall into this condition when we cling to the things of this world—when we cling to material things, to what is temporary, fleeting, and consumed by time and use. Everything she possessed was now being destroyed (she was losing it), and this caused so much pain that she preferred to disobey what God had told her: “Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in this plain” (Gen. 19:17). She could not see beyond it. She could not see that the same hand that was saving them was the same hand that would provide for them later. Sometimes we cling so tightly to material things that we cannot see God’s favor before us.
- We fall into this condition when we remain connected to the past—thinking about what I did or failed to do, thinking about what was done to us, thinking about who abandoned us. Remaining connected to the past, to what was left behind, leads us into a state of immobility, unable to move forward or achieve our dreams, desires, and longings. We remain static and make no progress.
- We fall into this condition by walking behind rather than alongside—God commands us to walk alongside Him. We must also walk alongside the companion He has given us. Being beside someone also means being in agreement and in harmony. It means being on the same page as our companion and as God.
- We fall into this condition when we do things behind God’s back—“She looked back, behind his back” (v. 26). Husbands who do things behind their wives’ backs fall into this immobile condition; wives who do things behind their husbands’ backs; children who do things behind their parents’ backs; believers who do things behind their spiritual leaders’ backs and behind God’s back. Many of these things are not even seen—that is, they never actually take place—but are hidden motives and agendas within the heart. This turns us into cold people, without feelings or emotions, without affection or life; it turns us into pillars of salt. Into people without sweetness in life, because our conscience constantly accuses us.
“Remember Lot’s wife”—This warning must remain engraved in our minds like an echo so that we do not fall into such a condition. As children of God, we cannot live in the past of our history. What happened has already happened, and we must enjoy the present and take heart for the future, because the best is yet to come.
A determined believer is one who learns from the past, lives in the present, and remains excited about the future.