Genesis 19:23

Genesis 19:23 says, The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.  It was morning before Lot finally left Sodom and reached Zoar.  Once more, Lot was going to a place that looked better instead of relying on God to direct him.  I will once again state that God had not directed Abram, now Abraham, to take Lot with Him, but still God had blessed Lot.  Now, due his own decisions without seeking God's guidance, Lot had lost nearly everything.  No matter how much wealth we may accumulate in this world, one day all that will be left is our relationship to God.  Verse twenty-four states, Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;  When God destroys a place because of the sin of the people, I don't believe that there will ever be any doubt that it is God's action.  God had caused the rain to destroy the earth in Noah's day, but with Sodom and Gomorrah, He caused fire and brimstone to rain down out of heaven.  This was not a natural disaster, but an act of God.  Verse twenty-five adds, And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.  Though Abraham had attempted to find a way to spare the cities, possibly because of Lot and his family, there was no way to be found.  Of course, God made a way available for Lot and his family to be saved, even if some of them would not listen.  We cannot force salvation on anyone, but we have a responsibility to witness to all that we can.  We should pray for the lost, but the decision to accept Christ as their Savior and Lord will always be theirs.  Verse twenty six says, But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.  Lot's wife was so close to being saved, but she could not simply move ahead without looking back on what she was leaving behind, and she lost her life. We cannot look back on the past feeling that we have left too much behind when we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  We must simply continue to look ahead in faith.  Verse twenty-seven declares, And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:  Abraham got up early and went to the altar, the place where he stood before God.  If we have concerns in life, then we need to bring them to God as soon as possible.   Verse twenty-eight adds, And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.  Abraham looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, knowing that God had pronounced judgment on them.  He saw the smoke, and I am sure that he knew God had carried out His judgment.  Sometimes we just have to acknowledge that some people will not be saved.  Verse twenty-nine declares, And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.  Lot was spared because of Abraham.  Lot was not given an everlasting relationship with God because of Abraham's faith, but he was given another chance to establish that relationship.  We cannot save others but we can ask God to give them another chance to accept Christ as their Savior and Lord.