To even the most casual student of the Bible, if the phrase, "Pillar of salt," is mentioned, the thought goes to the story of Lot's wife. It's a familiar one. Lot and his family are told to flee from Sodom before God, in his wrath, destroyed the city. As they were leaving Sodom, they were told not to look back at the destruction taking place behind them. Of course, Lot's wife looked back, and that's where the pillar of salt appears. Literally.
Well, I've been thinking about the fate of this woman lately and have found that there are lessons from it that can be applied to our lives even today. In reading the account in Genesis 19, two verses stand out to me.
The first is: "When they had brought them outside, one said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away." Genesis 19:17 (NASB)
The second verse is this one: "But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." Genesis 19:26 (ESV)
What has stood out to me is this. In the walk of the believer there are valley experiences and there are mountain top experiences. Personally, I would like to spend all of my days walking with my Father on the mountain top. In practice, however,....because of circumstances....because of sin.....because of out right rebellion....I do find myself walking in some pretty deep and long valleys. It occurs to me that, as believers, our challenge is to minimize the time in the valleys of life and to experience to the fullest the times on the mountain. Admittedly, much of our time is spent on the flat lands in between, but the valleys can be devastating.
Now, I'm not a theologian, but it seems to me Lot's wife's mistake was the looking back. Pretty profound, huh. They were told not to look back, and she looked back. Simple as that. She looked back, became a pillar of salt, and never left the valley. She never made it to the flat land. She never made it to the mountain. Pillar's of salt don't move.
While, as far as I know, this woman was the only person in history to be walking one moment and frozen as an eternal salt figurine the next. However, I would suggest that there are more than a few believers who have become spiritual pillar's of salt, perpetually stranded in one of the valleys of life. I would also suggest that they are stranded there by the same mistake made by Lot's wife. They've spent too much time looking back. Perhaps they're looking at the trail that led to the valley, regretting choosing that path. Perhaps they're dwelling on the circumstances, some of them beyond their control, that led to the decent into the valley. It could be a number of things. Being a follower of Christ does not exempt us from plunging into the valleys, but we do have a friend on the mountain gently beckoning us to join him. The key is to learn the valley lessons, remember that Christ walks with us through them, and then to plant our face toward the mountain of God. I have learned that it is much easier to move forward when I am not continually looking over my shoulder.
It is the encouragement we get from Paul in Philippians 3:13-14: "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
I don't like the valleys. I try to avoid them, but if I find myself traveling through one, I determine to make the trip short. I determine with everything that is in me to take the advice of the author of Hebrews and set my eyes on Jesus. It's done through prayer. It's done through the cleansing of the word. And it's done by daily bathing in the grace that was poured out on Calvary. I find that when I dwell on those things, the temptation to look back is greatly lessened, and the journey through the valley becomes a form of glory. And, when I am on the mountain and I look back at the valley, I appreciate even more the grace and mercy that brought me through.
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