Dwelling with God

What are the advantages to living close to God? Too often, we "serve" God from habit, or we only serve God when we can clearly see that it's beneficial to us. However, serving God is always beneficial to us. In Psalms 5:4-6 we find that no evil person can be close to God.

David says in Psalms 5:7 how we are to approach God. First, David recognizes God's complete control. It is only by God's mercy that we are allowed to approach Him. Second, David shows humility in bowing down. Bowing down is an outward way to show servitude to another. This is how we should always approach God: recognizing His supreme authority and showing our humility in service to Him.

Then, after showing the manner in which he has approached God, David makes his request in Psalms 5:8. David asks for only one thing: guidance. He asks God to lead him. He doesn't try to tell God where he wants to go. He doesn't ask God to lead him to a particular place. He just asks God to lead him and leaves the destination up to God.

These are two of the greatest advantages of serving God: protection and guidance. By living close to God at all times, we know that we are protected from evil; we're protected by God because in His presence no evil can dwell. By living close to God at all times, we are able to follow Him where He leads us. There is nothing more important in our lives than following God's will.

Going Half Way

Today we're picking up the story of Lot as he flees from the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:15-17. Here we see the angels of the Lord as they've spent the night with Lot, and now they tell Lot it's time to get out. Lot has lingered and lived in his sin for so long that he has grown accustomed to it, and we see that he's hesitant to leave. The angels actually have to take him and his family by the hand and lead them out of the city. In Genesis 19:17, the angels tell Lot to not look back, don't stop, and flee to the mountain.

We've seen God's mercy and grace, and Lot's hesitation to obey now, but he continues his pattern in Genesis 19:18-20. He begs not to have to go to the mountain, using excuses about the city being smaller, or the disaster overtaking him. Already God has shown him favor by taking him out of the city of sin, and he lacks the faith outside the gate to trust God to get him to the mountain of safety. Instead, he dares to know as much as God, in that he finds another place, closer to the sinful condition he had been living in, and begs to go there instead.

Genesis 19:21-25 goes on to show God's mercy in allowing Lot to safely arrive in Zoar (a small city believed to have been as close to Sodom as Sodom was to Gomorrah) before raining down his wrath upon not just Sodom and Gomorrah, but all of the cities in the plain, saving only the city Lot had begged to flee to.

Then, in Genesis 19:26, we find that Lot's wife looks back, back to Sodom and Gomorrah, and is turned to a pillar of salt. Because of Lot's hesitation in following the word of the Lord, and his pride in thinking he could live so close to his sin and not effect his family, his wife was lost. We as men are responsible for ensuring the safety and salvation of our families. We have to follow God's instructions, even if we dare to think we're strong enough to resist temptation, lest someone who depends on our guidance is unable to resist.

Ultimately, we find in Genesis 19:30 that Lot ends up leaving Zoar in fear, and taking his remaining family to the mountains where God had originally told him to go. Lot was responsible for his family, for their very souls, and in his hesitation and pride, he let one of those closest to him slip through the cracks. When God in His grace and mercy sees fit to pull us from the depths of our sin, don't compromise, don't go halfway. We need to follow all the way, and remove ourselves far from our sin, lest one of those we're responsible for falls into the trap of our temptation.