Lingering...

Yesterday's message was really good. I am really enjoying this series on Genesis we are having at my church. Mark spoked over Genesis 16:1-25:18. There was a lot to put in that message over 10 chapters, but he nailed down five points. I don't have my church notebook with me right now otherwise, I'd put them up here for ya. There was one part that really stuck out to me. It was in the chapter that talks about Sodom and Gomorrah and specifically how the Lord was merciful to Lot to take him out of that city. The verse that I underlined in my Bible was Genesis 19:16 "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 of and set him outside the city."
The context here is starts when two angels (who are the two men in this verse) come to visit Lot bringing him a message from the Lord that he is going to destroy the city because of all the sexual sin. There were even some men that were trying to break in Lot's house to do impure things with him and his family. Lot was even going to give his two daughters to the men. But the angels struck them all with blindness so they would not see the door to break in. The angels again told Lot to leave this place in the morning. The next morning the angels showed up again to remind Lot to flee, but here in verse 16 we see that Lot lingered! He hesitated. What was he doing when he was lingering? Did he not see the corruption in the city? But we also see the mercy of God by the angels physically grabbing Lot and taking him and his family out of the city. The Lord could have let Lot stay there in the city since we see his lack of trust in the Lord for lingering or maybe his desire to stay in the sin. Don't you see yourself in Lot though? I see myself here. I see when I hesitate to follow the Lord because I either don't trust him or I like the sin that I am doing. But we also see another example of the mercy and grace of the Lord to not let us die in our sin or to practice his sovereignty in our lives by fulfilling his purposes whether we move or not. He's still so faithful to prove to us his goodness and love even when we are lingering. Why do we linger? Why don't we trust the Lord when he says to do something? Why do we like to stay in our sin? It's comfortable? Perhaps. It's safe? Definitely. But God hasn't called us to safetly or comfort. He's called us to take up our cross daily and follow him. I am thinking about how I could apply this to my life. I was thinking on my walk to work this morning about how often I have taken my eyes off the cross and placed them on my circumstances that seem to be whirling around me. I tend to think that I can control them when I do that. But it usually ends that I can't and I have made even more of a mess of things. Why do I do this? I don't trust the Lord. I am lingering. I'm so thankful though that the Lord has placed me somewhere where I have godly people around me to remind me of his faithfulness in bringing me out of myself and putting me at the feet of the Cross where my first love is.

♥