February 2, 2026 WEST

Today's reading takes us through the sobering account of Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction in Genesis 19, where we encounter a powerful spiritual truth: when God calls us forward, looking back can cost us everything. Lot's wife became a pillar of salt not because she was evil, but because her heart remained tethered to what God had already declared finished. How often do we find ourselves in that same position—rescued from destructive patterns, toxic relationships, or ungodly mindsets, yet still romanticizing what we left behind? The passage challenges us to examine what we're holding onto that God has called us to release. We see Lot hesitating even as angels urged him to flee, negotiating with his own deliverance by asking to go to a small village instead of the mountains God intended. This reveals a profound truth: we cannot haggle with God's plan for our lives. His way is always higher, always better, even when it feels uncomfortable or unfamiliar. The inheritance passages in Joshua remind us that God's blessings often contain hidden blessings—an inheritance within an inheritance. And Job's declaration, 'I know that my Redeemer lives,' shows us how to pivot from our pain to our purpose, from our circumstances to our Savior. The question we must ask ourselves today is simple but searching: Are we moving forward with gratitude, or are we still glancing back at our personal Sodom?