Genesis 19 records the sad story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
We know fromGenesis 18 that the day before, Abraham, concerned for his family in Sodom (seeGen. 19:29), interceded with the Lord on behalf of the city, and in the end, the Lord promised: “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” (Gen. 18:32b NIV). Sadly, ten righteous people were not found in Sodom, and even more sadly, even Lot and his family had to be pulled out of the city by force (SeeGen. 19:16).
Abraham, however, did not know that his family had been saved. In those days there was no 11 o’clock news, no internet, no texts, no email and no telephones. There weren’t even newspapers. When Abraham looked out early that next morning, he didn’t see Lot being drug away from the city. All he saw was dense smoke: “Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.” (Gen. 19:27-28 NIV). Because the Bible doesn’t record any further interaction between Abraham and Lot, there is the possibility that Abraham would never know that Lot had been saved!
What must he have thought at that point?
The Bible actually doesn’t tell us what Abraham thought. All we can do is imagine, and I don’t know about you, but my thoughts might have screamed forth something like this: “Oh God! My family! They’re…gone!”
Interestingly, the fact that Abraham must have believed Lot to be dead didn’t change the fact that what he saw with his eyes and believed as truth was missing one important piece of information: Lot had been safely pulled from the city (See Gen. 19:16-26, 30)!
God may not always reveal to us exactly what happens. He may leave us without all the facts. What our senses scream forth may be missing some vital piece of information. What do we do then? Do we believe that God has not kept His promises? Do we begin to doubt? Do we become angry with Him? Or do we simply have faith that He is in control and cling to Him despite what our senses are telling us?
Let’s remember that the recipe for living a blessed life, a life without fear, requires that we put our trust in God: “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jer. 17:7-8 NIV). Though we don’t always have all the answers, two things are clear: Our lack of knowledge about the facts doesn’t change them, and sometimes we are required to simply: “…live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7 NIV). Abraham’s life was an example of this, for although we do not know his reaction to the destruction of Sodom, we do know that He continued to put His trust in God: “By faith Abraham…” (Heb. 11:8 NIV).
Whatever it is you are going through right now, it doesn’t matter what your senses are telling you. What matters is that you cling to the One who is the Author of Truth; that you never let your faith waiver despite what your eyes may see; that you trust in the Lord and put your confidence in Him no matter what. What truly matters is to live…“by faith and not by sight”!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, andScriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, withAnswers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.