When Life Feels Out of Control: Finding Safety and Direction The bigger awareness speaks through callings—not just what you should do, but who you're becoming in the process.
You used to love what you do. It lit you up, gave you energy. Now you're going through the motions, wondering where the spark went.
These moments can leave you scared, frustrated, and unsure which way to go next. That’s why the story in Genesis 19 isn’t just about a far-off city called Sodom. It’s about what happens inside you whenever life feels dangerous, uncertain, or completely out of your hands—and how you can find your way back to safety, even when everything around you seems to be falling apart.
Your limited view isn't wrong—it's just incomplete. God offers the missing pieces.
The Story: Escape from Sodom
First, let’s look at some key moments from Genesis 19 (WEB):
The two angels came to Sodom at evening... Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them... He said, “See now, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, stay all night, wash your feet, and you can rise up early, and go on your way.”
...The men of Sodom surrounded the house... and they called to Lot, and said to him, “Where are the men who came in to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”
...The angels urged Lot, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.”
...When they had brought them out, he said, “Escape for your life! Don’t look behind you... escape to the mountains, lest you be consumed!”
...But Lot’s wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
...God overthrew those cities in which Lot had lived.
Let’s break down what is happening—both in the story, and inside you whenever you hit a crisis or crossroads.
Who Are These Characters Inside You?
The invitation came at the worst possible time.
- Lot: The part of you that wants to do the right thing but feels stuck in a situation that no longer matches your values or safety.
- Lot’s Wife: The voice inside that wants to turn back to what’s familiar, even if it’s not safe or right for you anymore.
- Two Angels: The quiet nudges and warnings from your own awareness—moments when you know, deep down, that change is needed now.
- Sodom: Any state in your life (or your mind like a cup) where things have become chaotic, destructive, and out of line with your deeper sense of good.
Does any of this feel familiar? Maybe you’re not escaping a literal city, but you might be facing a friendship, a job, a habit, or a business plan that’s no longer right for who you want to be.
The Emotional Journey: Warnings, Decisions, Escape
The story starts when two visitors—angels—arrive. Lot welcomes them and offers them protection. This is a lot like that inner voice The bigger awareness speaks through callings—not just what you should do, but who you're becoming in the process. you get before things go wrong, when you recognize something’s not right and try to guard what you care about.
But the world around Lot is much more troubled than he can fix by himself. The people of Sodom surround the house, demanding what is not theirs. This is just like when negative habits, thoughts, or influences overwhelm the part of you that wants to be safe, kind, and true to yourself.
What warning signs have you noticed lately? Are there places in your life that feel tense, unsafe, or out of balance, even if you try to cover it up?
Sometimes this mirrors what we discovered about building inner stability
Like Angela, who rebuilt her career after the industry collapse and found work she actually loved.
You Know When It’s Time to Go
Development Insight: Your relationship with the bigger awareness deepens over time.
The clearer you see it inside, the clearer it shows up outside.
The angels in the story don’t just point out the problem—they urge Lot to leave, and to not waste time looking back. This is the turning point for anyone who has ever needed to break free from something toxic: a job that drains you, a business deal that feels off, or friends who always pull you into the same old trouble. When the warning comes, it’s not about blaming anyone else. It’s about choosing your life, your values, and your future.
- Lot hesitates — that’s normal. Sometimes it’s hard to let go, even when you know you should.
- The angels literally “take his hand”—Sometimes, you need help. You might find a friend, a mentor, or a gut feeling that finally gives you the courage to act.
- Lot’s family is told: Don’t look back, don’t stop anywhere in the plain, escape to the mountains. —This is the moment when the past cannot follow you. It’s about fully letting go, no matter how tempting it feels to run back to comfort.
What would it mean for you to “not look back” right now? Is there something you keep returning to in your mind like a cup or routine, even though you know it’s time to move on?
What Happens When You Look Back? Lot’s Wife and the Pillar of Salt
The harshest moment in Genesis 19 comes when Lot’s wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt. On first read, this seems like a punishment. But symbolically, this is about what happens when you let the past hold you still. You get “stuck”—just like a pillar.
Salt is useful—it preserves, it seasons food, it makes things last. But being frozen as salt means you can’t move into what’s next. You’re trapped holding onto something that doesn’t belong in your new life.
Mental rehearsal programs your reality. Use it wisely.
Real-life example: Say you finally leave a job that felt draining, but you constantly compare every new experience to the old one instead of moving forward. Or maybe after a breakup, you only remember the good and ignore why you left.
Where are you looking back in your life, instead of moving forward? Are you letting old disappointments, hurts, or even past wins hold you in place?
After the Escape: Facing the Unknown
Even when Lot and his daughters are safe, they feel lost. Their old world is gone, the familiar is destroyed, and they hide in a cave (Genesis 19:30). This can happen inside us too: after a big change, there’s often a quiet, lonely period where you’re not sure what’s next. This is normal. Even when you know you’ve made the right move, your awareness needs time to rest, adjust, and grow.
Why Do Cities Get Destroyed?: The Deeper Meaning
Advanced experimentation means tracking subtle guidance, not just obvious answers.
In this story, Sodom’s destruction isn’t just about punishment. Symbolically, it means any part of your life that’s out of step with your highest awareness must break down before something new can grow. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s a kind of cleaning up—a clearing out of old beliefs, choices, or situations that have become so misaligned, you can no longer stay.
What starts as experiment becomes experience, then knowing.
- Maybe your old business habits (cutting corners, ignoring problems) had to end for you to build something lasting.
- Maybe a toxic relationship had to “collapse” so you could finally be free to love and be loved in a healthy way.
Is something breaking down in your life right now, not because you failed, but because a deeper part of you knows it’s time for something better?
Awareness Expands in Three Steps: Warning, Action, Return
- Step 1: Notice when things outgrow their place in your life. Just like the angels’ warning, your intuition lets you know when a situation isn’t good for you anymore. Listen early.
- Step 2: Make a bold move. When you finally act—quitting the job, ending the partnership, leaving the comfort zone—you reclaim your freedom. It’s scary, but it moves you into a new level of awareness, choice, and growth.
- Step 3: Commit to not looking back. Let the past stay behind so it can’t freeze you where you are. This is the only way to let your truest, boldest self step forward.
If you grew up watching families who rebuild after natural disasters play football, you remember how, after a bad play or tough loss, he would immediately refocus on the next challenge rather than dwelling on what just happened. He’d say things like, “I can’t control what happened—only how I respond right now.” This reflects moving forward, not becoming “a pillar of salt” over mistakes, missed chances, or old failures. In business, life, or faith, this mindset lets you start over stronger, instead of getting stuck.
Simple Practice: Your Personal “Escape from Sodom”
- Pause. Name one area of your life where things feel wrong or unsafe, even if you’ve tried to downplay it.
- Imagine the warning sign. How does your body, mind, or circumstances try to get your attention?
- Decide to act. Choose one step—however small—that moves you away from what drains you and toward what gives you life and hope.
- Promise yourself: I won’t look back. Remind yourself that clinging to the past only keeps you stuck.
Do it on paper, or whisper it to yourself. Action creates space for awareness to lead you to something new. Over time, you’ll notice you’ve moved from a place of chaos to a place of clarity and possibility.
What’s Next?
Genesis 19 is about making the toughest choices and not looking back, even when everything feels uncertain. If you’re willing to trust your inner nudges and let go of the past, you’ll become the kind of person who can build again from scratch, no matter what gets destroyed.
In the next chapter, Genesis 20, you’ll discover what it means to settle into a new land, rebuild trust with yourself, and live from a place of honesty—even when you’re still healing from the past. Every chapter builds your awareness. Each story is another chance to move from fear into freedom.
Your stance toward life determines what life can give you.
Change may seem scary, but every time you respond to awareness within, you become the creator of your own adventure—again and again.
