Putting behind the shame-filled past

I was sharing with a dear someone yesterday about something that really touched me, from God's Word - and he thought it meaningful. So I decided to share it on my blog today.

A few nights ago, I was having difficulties sleeping, having somebody on my mind... so I prayed for that person and God brought to my mind a passage in Genesis, which depicted the Lord's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Gen 19:15 onwards, it is written:

"When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city." But he lingered; so the men (the angels) seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him forth and set him outside the city. And when they had brought them forth, they said, "Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley; flee to the hills, lest you be consumed...."

Then verse 26-28: "But Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord; and he looked down towards Sodom and Gomor'rah and toward all the land of the valley, and behed, and lo, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace."

Lot was weak. And that's why he chose to dwell amongst the corruption of the land, that he could enjoy the earthly riches the valley of Jordan held. But God, in His great mercy and grace, decided to spare Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, to give them a new beginning.

But...as we all know...

First, Lot was slow to obey - in verse 16, '...he lingered'. God was merciful. He had the angels grab them by the hand to set them outside the city. That speaks of how urgent God's call was.

Secondly, Lot being a coward, doubted God's instructions. See verse 18 onwards, where Lot said, "Oh, no my lords; behold, your servant has found favour in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me, and I die. Behold, yonder city is near enough to flee to..." But God was merciful to him again - He said to Lot in vs 21-22, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Make haste, escape there; for I can do nothing till' you arrive there."

Thirdly, Lot was an unsuccessful leader. Vs 26 : "Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." What was his wife doing behind him at times like those? This shows that he did not have any spiritual authority as a husband over his wife and children, and did not communicate well enough to his wife what the Lord had warned him in vs 17...(The Lord did not speak that to the whole family, but just Lot.) "Flee for your life; do not look back or stop...lest you be consumed..." Later in the story, this was evidenced by his two daughters doing disrespectful acts to their father - they made him drunk and had sex with him.

What a lot of sad, unfortunate things that happened - which didn't have to happen.

When I was reminded of this story, I thought: what an awesome, merciful and gracious God we live for! Imagine if He had left Lot to perish, for a want of his weakness and greed... or if He had allowed Lot to live out the full consequences of his foolish decisions. But He didn't. He brought them out of S & G that they would have a new chance to live a new, purposeful life. He said, "Flee, do not look back or stop..." and that makes perfect sense in two different aspects, both physical and spiritual. Firstly, common sense tells us that if we do that, it would really slow us down alot - and it would have been terrible indeed to fall into the wrath of God on that particular day. "...Lest you be consumed..." Secondly, in a spiritual sense, God wanted Lot to look forward to living a new life of purpose in Him, and not look back and be consumed by both the desire to return to the place of earthly riches and be destroyed along with the rest of the inhabitants in that land, or any regret of his foolish mistakes.

Likewise, I feel the same about what some of us are going through. Even myself. Of course what some went through in the past was so much more painful than what others can imagine - but what is in the past stays in the past. The foolish acts we've engaged in - we've apologized to whoever's concerned, and we've repented... God has mercifully forgiven us, set us free from the mistake we made and spoken into our hearts what He said to the adulterous woman in John 8 - "Has no one condemned you... Neither do I condemn you; go and do not sin again."Go. Jesus did not even say, "Remember!"

How beautiful is the call of God to a renewed life. Let us not be like Lot - lingering, reminiscing and regretting (probably he felt that it was such a waste too that he had to leave behind so much) even when God has said don't look back. As a result he was so trapped in his destiny. In the end Lot lost so much. I'm also referring to his spiritual destiny.

Let not the shadows of your past directly or more often-so indirectly hinder what God is doing in your life. The devil often reminds us of our defeats - but in Christ, we are now victorious! There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ! You today aren't the same as the you last time, and therefore you cannot go on living as if your identity is still of the old, holding on to the wounds, memories, unforgiveness and regrets, and just counting on 'time to heal everything'. You've got to forgive yourself, release whatever unforgiveness you still have to the Lord, count the wounds as healed (God will see to them Himself), learn what you can from the mistake, and move on, coz you have got a call to fulfil for the new season ahead. And just as how God changed Hoshea's name to Joshua when he was going no longer going to be just a warrior under the leadership of Moses but the incoming leader to take the nation of Israel into its destiny, God has given you a renewed identity to bring you out of your captivity and establish you in new places.

I will always remember what Pst. J said in our Experiencing God class - "God is a God of many second chances."

How unfailing is His love...

I really hope that we would learn to draw strength from God to be a David. In 2 Samuel, King David sinned against God he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered a man (Bathsheba's husband) so that she could be his wife - and as a result, he had to bear with the consequences - the first son that Bathsheba bore for David died and come on - he murdered his own friend! How would you feel about that for months (and perhaps years) after that?!? But what a contrast David's attitude was, to that of Lot!

I mean, he wasn't inhumane. There was a time for everything. He did grief. He had repented before God in much mourning and he tried to reason with God (in fasting and weeping) for a whole period, maybe a year ...BUT after the child had died like God said he would (see verse 20 onwards) and there was no way of reversing that, David made the effort to do something: He arose, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes; went into the house of the Lord and worshipped Him... after that he went to his own house and ate (much to the surprise of his servants - David told them - enough is enough!). Then David comforted Bathsheba (now his wife), and the Lord's favour was upon them again that they bore another child - Solomon. And the Lord loved him.

Amazing spiritual implications of the physical...

1. Arose --> getting out of the 'pit'... getting up from the dust

2. Washed and anointed himself --> Cleansed himself from the remnants of yesterday, taking upon himself the freshness and renewal

3. Changed his clothes --> Putting on a 'new covering', a renewed identity, by God's grace

4. Worshipped the Lord --> acknowledging God's sovereignity as well as great mercy and grace

5. Went home and ate --> Food in the bible in the OT always had to do with regaining physical, emotional and spiritual strength. Remember Elijah? In a spiritual sense, to eat of God's promises and regain faith/strength. God's pardon. God's edification that addresses us as His sons and daughters.

6. Comforted Bathsheba.

To cut it short, David did not look back. He didn't blame Bathsheba. He didn't blame himself. What was in the past is stayed in the past. But he made love to her as a wife -and they bore Solomon. (Imagine if there had been no Solomon, just because David couldn't forget...) And God blessed the descendants of Solomon - the lineage of grace which in His time brought forth Christ. If God doesn't remember our sins anymore, why should we?

Are we doubting in the power of His blood to cleanse us from all unrighteousness when we confess and repent?

Indeed He makes all things new.