But Lot’s wife behind him looked back and she became a pillar of salt.
– Genesis 19:26
If you know this story, as God is raining down judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, he tells Lot and his family, “Get out of the city and do not look back.” The picture is, don’t look back with longing for this place that was so filled with sin that so warranted God’s holy judgment in this way. Don’t look back. But Lot’s wife looked back and she immediately lost her life.
Genesis 19:26 challenges us to fix our eyes on what truly lasts.
What’s interesting is, in Luke 17:32, Jesus references this story he’s talking about when he comes back. And he says in Luke 17:31, “On that day, let the one who’s on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down and take them away. And likewise, let the one who’s in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”
In other words, do not hold on to the things of this world that are fading, that are passing away. Fix your eyes on where God is, on the world to come, and on that which will last forever. Oh, you just think about your life and my life in this world. We are tempted at every turn to look around us at the way the world is living, with longing for this or that.
This is where we’re tempted to sin. And Jesus is telling us, don’t do it. Keep your eyes fixed on me. Walk in holiness and purity. Be holy as God is holy. Don’t look back, look at Jesus. The Author and Perfecter of our faith Hebrews 12 says, “For the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.
Genesis 19:26 challenges us to fix our eyes on Jesus.
So I want to encourage you to live like this today. Just try to intentionally look to Jesus all day long. Just try to remind yourself all day long, keep looking to Jesus, keep looking to Jesus. Not to the ways of this world. Keep looking to Jesus. Fix your eyes on him and don’t hold back from all he’s calling you to in himself. Holiness, purity, power for witness, conformity to his image, obedience to his Word.
O God, we pray. Help us today to fix our eyes on Jesus and keep our eyes on Jesus all day long. When we are tempted to be stressed or worried or anxious, help us to fix our eyes on Jesus as our Peace, our Comfort, our Wisdom, our Help. When we are feeling weak in any way, including weak in the face of temptation, help us to fix our eyes on Jesus who is strength for us.
We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. When we are tempted to despair or discouragement, help us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the peace of Jesus and the hope we have in Jesus, and the boldness of Jesus. O God, when we are tempted by many different things in this world, help us to fix our eyes on the words of Jesus, to hear his words, meditate on his words, obey his words all day long.
O God, we pray that Jesus would be the center of our attention, our affection, and every facet of our lives today. Help us to remember Lot’s wife and keep our eyes fixed on you and to follow you. Lord, when you give us opportunities to share the gospel today, help us to be obedient, to keep our eyes fixed on you. Not on what people are going to think about us, but on what people’s relationship is with you.
Prayer for the Batlukh-Gid People
And God, we pray today. We intercede for the Batlukh-Gid people of Russia. 40,000 Muslims, no known followers of Jesus among them. God, we pray that the Batlukh-Gid people of Russia would be reached with the good news of your love. Lord, we pray you would send out workers to them who don’t look back. God, we pray that for missionaries around the world and brothers and sisters on the front line of unreached peoples. Lord help them not to look back, to keep their eyes fixed on you and what you’ve called them to do, and give them success in their work as they do it. God, we pray all this according to your Word in Genesis 19:26. In Jesus’ name, in the name of the one who did not look back, who went all the way to the cross for us. We pray this in his name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
