“As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords.” (Genesis 19:15–18, ESV)
But he lingered. Have you ever noticed how urgency is the first victim in a sick faith? Delay is the mother of disaster. And nowhere does that hamper our forward progress more than when it comes to our faith. God calls us to trust Him. Excuses reveal our doubt.
Despite Lot’s rescue by the two angels from the deviant crowd at the door of his home the night before, and the failure to convince his future sons-in-law to come with him, he lingers. With the urgency of an imminent attack from the Master of the Universe who never misses, the angelic bodyguard grows tense. Pressing Lot to leave, he lingers.
This is the classic symptom of a sick faith. God speaks. We delay. Doubt masks itself as concern or compassion. The bottom line is that we are just filled with unbelief. God has done so much for us and yet … we linger, “choosing rather to … enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” (Hebrews 11:25, ESV)
Lot continues to dawdle like some rebellious three-year-old. Dragging his feet as the heavenly heroes literally pull him out of the town to save his life, they point him in the direction of life saying, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” But again Lot’s lack of trust in God rears it’s ugly head when he’s only minutes away from total annihilation: “Oh, no, my lords,” he protests!
The mountains are too far for this man of the earth, this manual laborer? What ridiculousness! He’s not unable. His faith simply has rewritten his sense. Urgency has been replaced by comfort, the ultimate symptom of soul sickness.
Are you limping through life with a sick soul, a feeble faith? Isn’t it time to get back in the Word and on your knees in trust of God?
Faith Filled Fridays hope to boost your trust in God and accelerate your daring and courage in everyday life. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each encouragement out of a heart that has known both great joy and great loss – his wife of 38 years, 5 months and 2 days was promoted to Heaven on November 11, 2017. Through every experience, God has proven Himself more than faithful and trustworthy. He welcomes your comments below.
