I hate the news. I hate listening to all the turmoil, fighting, and hurting. I hate listening to the depressing predictions of where this country is going and what the future will look like. It takes my mind and heart to places that I don't like. I hear of the destruction and wickedness. The lack of morals and decency and my heart breaks.
The other day, all these things were running through my mind. I was thinking of my children. I have two in college, three in high school and one in junior high. What will their world look like as they take those steps to go out on their own? What will they be walking into?
As my mind raced with these thoughts and concerns, a thought came into my heart, "and if there be ten there. And he said, I will not destroy it." That has been in my mind ever since. So much so that I had to go look it up and read it.
It came from Genesis chapter 18. The Lord is talking to Abraham about destroying Sodom and Gomorrah because of the wickedness there. Abraham asked the Lord if He would destroy the righteous with the wicked - even if there were just 50 righteous people in the city, would He not spare it for those 50? The Lord told Abraham that if He found 50 righteous people, He would spare the city. So then Abraham asked what if there was just 45 righteous people? The Lord again said if He found 45 it would be spared. So Abraham asked again. What about 40? What about 30? What about 20? Each time, the Lord answered that if He could find that many righteous, He would spare the city. Then Abraham asked one last time, what if ten shall be found there. "And he [the Lord] said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake."
Those scriptures brought peace to my heart. It let me know that the Lord is aware of us. He knows us and He wants to help us as we turn to Him. Now Sodom and Gomorrah did end up being destroyed, but not before the Lord warned the last few righteous to leave the city. They had turned their hearts to Him and He, in turn, led them to safety.
It is the same for us. Life is hard right now. There is so much out there to bring heartache, confusion, sadness, despair. But we can look towards God and find light and direction and love. He will listen to the pleas of the righteous. He will spare them and wrap His arms around them. Sometimes we feel alone in our battles with our morals, freedoms and beliefs being threatened. All we hear in the news is the bad and the ugly. We hear of Sodom and Gomorrah. But there is light. There is kindness. There is humility, love and righteousness. There is ten. He will hear our pleas, just as He heard Abraham's and He will bless us with all that He sees we need.
