Don't Let Fear Drive

When you read the account of Lot (Genesis 19) being forced out of Sodom and Gomorrah, you’ll notice a recurring theme – fear.

In Genesis 19:17-22, you see the angels telling him to ‘escape to the mountains’ but Lot tells them, ‘Please, no my lords…I cannot... lest some evil overtake me and I die.’ (Gen 19:18, 19) Mine you his earlier decision to move to Sodom didn’t turn out so well. But now he’s arguing with angels and telling them where he wants to go.

Well, when he finally gets to the city of his choosing, the scripture once again says that he was too afraid to actually live in the city; so he moves to the mountains. (Genesis 19:30) So why didn’t he want to live in the city? Quite simply - fear. He was still traumatized because of what happened in and to Sodom and didn’t want to live around those type of people anymore. It’s like when you grow up in the hood and you move to a new one, you immediately know what’s going on and you either get-in-where-you-fit-in or you become known as the one who stays in house. Well, evidently Lot chose the latter; so much so, that he didn’t just move to the mountains, but he lived in a cave.

And because fear drove him into a cave, which essentially is isolation, he left his daughters no choice but to make poor decisions. (Genesis 19:30-36) If he’d have gone where the angels initially told him to, his daughters would have had men to marry instead of ending up having to have children with him. His fearful decisions weren’t just affecting him – but his children.

What’s my point? Is fear driving you? Maybe your cave is that dead-end job. Perhaps you’re too afraid to have that tough conversation with a relative or to stop shackin’ with ole boy and his unfaithful tail because you’re too afraid to be by yourself. Whatever it is, you’ve got to know that your fear is also affecting your children and will eventually drive you and them into isolation; either away from the place God wants you to be or from the presence of God Himself.

Pray this with me: Heavenly Father, please forgive me. I’ve lived in fear for so long that I’ve become comfortable in it. Help me to recognize the places in my life where I’ve been fearful, isolated and stuck. And Lord, I ask that You would give me the courage, grace, and strength needed to come out of those places and away from those people. In Jesus’ name.

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