We see a glorious image of God's grace during His intervention in Sodom, when He literally seized Lot and his family out of the city. And when he was slow, the men seized him by the hand, he, his wife, and his two daughters : for the LORD would spare him ; they took him away, and left him out of the city "(Genesis 19:16).

As Lot lingered on the verge of destruction, without the strength or the will to save himself, God seized this confused, deceived, sin-bound man by the hand and led him to safety. He said to Lot, in essence : "I love you and I will not let you die in the judgment that I am going to send. You are a righteous man, Lot, and I warned you. Now, come !"

"For when we were still without strength, Christ at the appointed time died for the ungodly" (Romans 5: 6). The literal meaning of "without strength" here means "without capacity or will." God says He is ready to act for us because we have nothing to give.

The Lord still had a directive for Lot : "Save for your life ; do not look behind you, and do not stop in all the plain ; save yourself on the mountain, lest you perish" (Genesis 19:17). The mountain here represents the presence of God, an isolated place, alone with Him. We see this image repeated throughout Scripture. It was on a mountain that Moses was touched by the glory of God, where Jesus sought his Father in prayer, where Christ was transfigured before His disciples.

"The LORD is great, he is the object of all praise, in the city of our God, on his holy mountain" (Psalms 48: 1).

"Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and walk in his paths" (Isaiah 2: 3).

When God delivers you by faith in His promises, go straight to the mountain of His holiness - in His presence.

David Wilkerson