Reclaiming
the Truth
“Now Lot went up out of
Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to
live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters.” – Genesis 19:30
Redeeming
the Time
Have you ever felt a
letdown after a significant event or season in your life? Maybe you found
yourself asking, “What now?” In our story, the region has now been ransacked by
war, and Lot has been captured, then rescued and now returns home. What now?
What happens after the peril wanes and the sensation of the rescue wears off?
A crisis has a way of
making the important truths in life very clear. Our values are crystalized and
our priorities made clear, but when the dust has settled and life has resumed
its regular pattern, it can be easy to drift back into habits and patterns we
know are not best for us.
The story of Lot
reminds us of the dangers when we don’t let the reality of redemption take root
in our lives. Lot is mentioned several times in four straight chapters of
Genesis (11-14), but then not again until Genesis 19. Here, Lot is again the
subject of a great rescue. Once again, Abram plays a pivotal role in Lot’s
rescue, this time in advance of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis
19 ends with the final mention of Lot, and it is not a pretty scene. Take a few
minutes and look up the story for yourself. How does someone who has been
rescued twice fail to walk in the freedom and blessing of that love?
It seems so obvious
when we look at the story of Lot, but it is probably a little more challenging
when we think about our own stories. I was lost and promised eternal death, but
Jesus showed up to make a way for me to experience life. An incredibly high
price was paid for my redemption and yours because the Redeemer loves us that
much. Our redemption was paid for so we could live in the freedom that
redemption provides. Galatians 5:1 reminds us that, “It is for freedom that
Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves
be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
May our stories look
different than Lot’s story as we live in the reality of God’s redemption. We
have been redeemed and God will continue to rescue when we call, but let us be
people who seek to live in the freedom that God provides.
Reflection
- When have you found yourself drifting back to old practices and
patterns?
- How do you find yourself drifting away from the reality of your
redemption in Christ?
- Whom do you have in your life who encourages you to live as a
redeemed child of the King?
Resting
in His Redemption
Psalm 107 is entitled,
“Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So” and is a declaration of what God has done
for his people. Before you read this
beautiful Psalm, I want to draw your attention to three things that I hope will
encourage you today:
1) The Psalm begins and
ends speaking of God’s “steadfast love.”
2) Verses 6, 13, 19, 28
all repeat the same line:
“Then they cried to the
Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”
3) This cry of
desperation is followed every time in a subsequent verse with the line:
“Let them thank the
Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”
Receive Psalm 107 and
rest in the truth that our God is able to deliver us from any trouble, and His
love is forever steadfast. Once redeemed, God will continue to rescue us
because that’s what steadfast love does.
Psalm 107
Oh give thanks to
the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love
endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed
of the Lord say so,
whom he
has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in
from the lands,
from the east and
from the west,
from the north
and from the south.
4 Some wandered in
desert wastes,
finding no
way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their
soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to
the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them
from their distress.
7 He led them by a
straight way
till they
reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank
the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works
to the children of man!
For he satisfies
the longing soul,
and the hungry
soul he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
prisoners
in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had
rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned
the counsel of the Most High
So he bowed their
hearts down with hard labor;
they fell
down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to
the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered
them from their distress.
14 He brought them out
of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their
bonds apart.
15 Let them thank
the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works
to the children of man!
16 For he shatters
the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the
bars of iron.
17 Some were fools
through their sinful ways,
and because of their
iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind
of food,
and they drew near
to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to
the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them
from their distress.
20 He sent out his
word and healed them,
and delivered
them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank
the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works
to the children of man!
22 And let them offer
sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of
his deeds in songs of joy!
23 Some went down to
the sea in ships,
doing business on the
great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of
the Lord,
his wondrous
works in the deep.
25 For he commanded
and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the
waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to
heaven; they went down to the depths;
their
courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled
and staggered like drunken men
and were at their
wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to
the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered
them from their distress.
29 He made the storm
be still,
and the waves of the
sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad
that the waters were quiet,
and he brought
them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank
the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous
works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol him
in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the
assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers
into a desert,
springs of water into
thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a
salty waste,
because of the evil of
its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert
into pools of water,
a parched land into
springs of water.
36 And there he lets the
hungry dwell,
and they
establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and
plant vineyards
and get a fruitful
yield.
38 By his blessing they
multiply greatly,
and he does not
let their livestock diminish.
39 When they are
diminished and brought low
through oppression,
evil, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on
princes
and makes them
wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up
the needy out of affliction
and makes
their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and
are glad,
and all wickedness
shuts its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.“
