A couple weeks ago something happened to Val and I that was significantly difficult. We were put into a situation where we needed to make a decision about something that seemed impossible. After I came home from work and we discussed things, the weight of our discussion was upon me like a heavy blanket that I couldn't deal with. It was so heavy that I couldn't wait until the following morning to hear from the Lord, so I decided to open the Word and just enjoy some time with Him that evening. He knew what was on my heart and He knew that I needed his voice. So then I read:

15 As 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.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
Genesis 19:15-16

When I read this passage, I was awestruck at the mercy and patience that the Lord showed Lot when he gave Lot a command to get his family out of the city... but then Lot Lingered. And despite his lingering, the Lords mercy was demonstrated when he "seized him by hands and set them outside the city." I felt the same... like I was lingering in this place where I didn't know where to go. I needed the Lord to take me by the hand. I needed his mercy to show me what to do in such a way that I knew it was his leading... So I prayed and begged God just to be real with me and to lead me by the hand in the same way he did Lot.

I had faith that he could do it, but I had no idea how that would look.

48 hours later, God showed up. He used a Godly friend of mine to ask me some pointed questions and encourage me to follow my convictions purely based upon what I felt that God wanted me to do regardless of the outcome and what anyone else thought but HIM.

Looking back, I can say with 100% certainty that the Lord took me by the hand and led me out of the city. I am so humbled that the Lord can be so real, so present & so intimate with my struggles.

Father, thank you that to lead me by your hand. Thank you for using your word to increase my faith that you really do care about me. Please continue to lead me by your hand and cause my obedience to be empowered by your Holy Spirit as an overflow of who I am in Christ.

~ Rob Laizure