15As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16But he lingered.
Genesis 19:15-16a, ESV
As you read the Bible, how seriously do you take God’s actual words spoken to you? Do you take God at His word? Or do you act on His word if you feel like it? How do you allow His words to affect you?
God sent angels to the city of Sodom where Lot and his family lived. Lot was the nephew of Abraham who had pleaded with the messengers to please search for anyone righteous in the wicked city before it’s destruction. And here we are in Genesis 19 with the angels of God urgently speaking to Lot to get up, grab his family and get out before the city is destroyed. Lot’s response? …”But he lingered.”
Lingering is an outpouring of apathy; it is inaction and hesitation. We see that Lot is not accustomed to obeying the Lord; he possesses no sense of urgency when it comes to obedience. Now, what we need to understand is that Lot had entertained these same messengers overnight and yesterday knew full well they were from the Lord. What he understood the day before, he had grown apathetic to the next day.
Our encounters with God must be new and fresh every day! Never depend on an encounter of yesterday to be your motivation for today. God wants to meet with you DAILY! There are no leftover encounters being preserved in God’s fridge! Depending on yesterday’s word will leave you complacent and lingering today.