Nearly a year ago to the day I was blessed with the opportunity to hear Christine Caine speak at a local church in Utah for a Palm Sunday service. If you don't know who Mrs. Caine is, I urge you to listen to one of her sermons. Talk about anointed! This woman tells it like it is in the most beautiful way, full of imagery and with a thick Aussie accent. Her message was about Lot's wife, who some in the Jewish faith believe to be named "Idit" (which if you ask me, sounds a lot like "idiot"), and the story in Genesis 19 where The Lord warns Lot and his family to not look behind them when fleeing Sodom. Then further on in the New Testament, Jesus briefly and simply states, "Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32). The title of Christine's sermon was, "Don't Look Back", as she heeded the warning to not be like Lot's wife. It has stuck with me since and I have reflected on it tremendously in the past few days.
If you read into the context of Luke 17, it sounds a lot like what's happening today: people are eating, drinking, marrying, and acting totally corrupt - just like "in the days of Noah" before the floods came. These days were filled with evil and sinful behavior, which God decided to destroy by way of a flood due to Him abhorring the wickedness. When the floodgates of heaven were opened in Genesis 7, Yah cleansed the planet by wiping away all the "bad" and corruption entirely from the face of the earth.
A few weeks ago, I went to the movies with a friend who mentioned to me how the last time he was in that theater it was for a gang initiation ceremony (praise The Lord for redemption power and turning his life around!) and how perhaps it was a sign of God showing him where He had brought him from, as He had tended to do a few times prior to this circumstance. It really hit home with me as I reflected on all that Yah has done throughout my life - especially these past couple of years. I feel a bit incredulous when I actually think about the person I am today compared to a decade ago - all glory to God!
This past weekend I attended a wedding that I was honored to stand by one of my best friends' sides throughout, which happened to be in the city of Valdosta, Georgia, where I attended college. I'll be honest here, the four years I spent in Valdosta was probably the period I was furthest from The Lord. If I were to reflect on the girl that went there circa 2008-2012, I don't think I'd even recognize her. As I was back in familiar, yet unfamiliar, territory, there was a slight impulse inside of me that wanted to go back to the behaviors that I exhibited while attending college: engaging in consuming copious amounts of alcohol, becoming sexually involved with a fellow guest, and using a type of inappropriate language that I wouldn't dare to even listen to others partake in today. Temptations arose and I felt that "old self" rising up in me as they did. However, it was totally unenjoyable and left me feeling gross at the mere thought of engaging in these type behaviors. Physically, I was in a place of the past. Spiritually, I am well beyond that. I could've taken the "easy" road and fallen back into the temptations that stood before me. However, I am far stronger than that because of Him who is within me (1 John 4:4) and I resisted the devil, so he fled from me (James 4:7). I stood firm on my solid foundation of Jesus and the intense, intimate relationship I have since developed with Him, which nothing else can compare to. The days of drinking, vulgarity, and promiscuity are long gone. I choose to continue on the upward trajectory of my life, facing every battle head-on and fighting the good fight until my days on earth are over, using The Lord as my strength and shield (Psalm 28:7), covered by His armor (Ephesians 6:10-18), and anointed by His oil (Psalm 23:5).
Just like "in the days of Noah", the Living Water has completely washed me, cleansing out all of the darkness and impurities. Now I'm not saying I'm even close to perfection, but I am becoming more like Jesus each time I resist the enemy's advances, as are you. We must remember where we are now, but also not dwell on the past and where He's brought us from, though at times enjoy the glimpse of the past He may grant us on occasion to see how disgusting and dirty it is and how beautiful and clean it is where we are now.
"Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it" (Luke 17:33).
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