A Time of Crisis

A Time of Crisis

At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and two daughters who are here. Get out of here right now, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city.” (Genesis 19:15 NLT)

People react in different ways when faced with a “time of crisis.” Take the case of Abraham and his nephew Lot. Both of these family members are declared in the Scriptures to be “righteous;” yet they both acted differently when a time of crisis came into their lives.

   God, in the person of his pre-incarnate son Jesus Christ, confided in his faithful servant Abraham that catastrophic judgment was coming upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham was visibly upset. He was in a desperation mode. Why? Because he had family members living in Sodom who were about to be destroyed.

   As you read through Genesis chapter 18 take notice of what he doesn’t do. We don’t see him wringing his hands. No stomping of feet! No blaming of anyone!  Instead, he turned to the Lord and boldly engaged in a plea of mercy for the innocent. Abraham’s faith was rewarded by God who agreed to spare the city of Sodom if ten innocent people could be found.

   On the other hand, we see how Lot dealt with this “Time of Crisis.” When the crisis came and the men of the city demanded that the two men be brought out for their sexual pleasure, Lot made a feeble attempt to sway them, then offered his own daughters in exchange for the men. His actions and behavior are not what you would expect from a righteous man. To top it all off when the angels insisted that they leave immediately Lot “hesitated.” (Gen. 19:16a)

   How do we react in a time of crisis? Do we rant and rail against God? Do we point the finger at God and blame him? Or do we react like Abraham and turn to the Lord and plea for mercy. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us where we need it.” (NLT)

Prayer: Dear Lord, you are merciful God and I am thankful that I belong to you.