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.
Genesis 19:15-16
There are times when God drags us out of a bad place even though we don’t want to go. I think it’s usually in response to someone else’s prayers, as in this case Abraham had been praying for his nephew, Lot. God had revealed to Abraham that He was about to destroy the city of Sodom, where Lot lived, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants, and Abraham pleaded with God on Lot’s behalf.
Lot, himself a righteous man, had already begun in some ways to compromise. He had been living in the city of Sodom long enough that he had formed relationships with the people there. He was considered a man of authority there, with a seat in the city gate. His two daughters were promised in marriage to a couple of the men in the mob outside Lot’s door.
So it was hard for him to disentangle himself and walk away, even when the angels told him what was about to happen. He had a life there; those people, wicked as they were, were his friends.
Many of us, when we come to Christ, have a hard time leaving our friends behind. We would love to see them saved, and that’s a good thing, of course. But when we see that they aren’t going to leave the sinful life to come along with us in following Jesus, we still hesitate. We’re attached to them.
The angels took Lot, his wife and their daughters by the hands and dragged them physically out of the city, because God was being merciful to him in answer to Abraham’s prayers.
Are you struggling with leaving behind old relationships that still serve as opportunities for temptation? Are you having trouble leaving the old life behind? Get someone to support you in prayer, and make a clean break with those old sinful relationships.
Do you have a loved one who is trapped in their sinful lifestyle and emotionally bound to evil friends who drag him or her down? Be the one to pray for their deliverance. Don’t give up! God hears and He will do whatever is necessary to drag them out of there in spite of those attachments. Jesus saves!
Lord, I pray for my loved ones today who are in bondage to friendships that drag them into temptation, sin and destruction. Deliver them! Break the chains that bind them. Help me, too, to make a clean break with the sin in my life. Surround me with prayer-warriors who will hold me up to You whenever I’m in danger. Thank You, Lord, for hearing us and answering our cry, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles
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