Desperate for Hope | Christine Caine

Don’t Look Back: Remember Lot’s Wife and Move Forward in Hope

Scripture References

Primary text

• Luke 17:20
• Genesis 19:17
• Genesis 19:26

Other references

• Genesis 13:12-15
• Genesis 18
• Ezekiel 16:49-50
• Luke 24:21
• Zechariah 9:12

Overview

Jesus spoke of the end times and suddenly inserted three stark words: “Remember Lot’s wife.” Christine Caine used that surprise command to warn against getting calcified in the past when God is calling us forward. In a world swirling with pandemics, wars, instability, and moral confusion, followers of Jesus can live with unshakeable hope, pressing on toward God’s future instead of longing for what was.

Main Points

The Kingdom: already here, not yet complete

• Jesus told the Pharisees the Kingdom isn’t coming with visible fanfare; it is already “in your midst.”
• Yet its fullness is still future—evil, sickness, and injustice prove we’re living in the tension of “already and not yet.”
• Believers should live as if Jesus could return tomorrow and prepare as if generations remain.

Jesus’ single command: “Remember Lot’s wife”

• Out of 170 women mentioned in Scripture, only Lot’s wife is singled out by Jesus for remembrance during an end-times lesson.
• She is unnamed and appears only long enough to disappear—her entire legacy is one backward glance.
• Context: Genesis shows a family rescued from a burning city, told, “Escape for your life; do not look back.”

What made her turn around— and what turns us

• Lot’s wife looked back “with longing,” prioritizing a past God was finished with over the future He was offering.
• That glance froze her in place; she became a pillar of salt, affecting not only herself but her daughters’ future.
• Modern parallels: many Christians are stuck in pre-pandemic memories, economic loss, offense, unforgiveness, or disappointment.

• Illustration: Everywhere Christine travels people begin sentences with, “Well, before COVID…” showing how events have split time for them more than Christ Himself.

God’s call in a shaken world: become prisoners of hope

• Ezekiel lists Sodom’s core sin as pride, over-abundance, and neglect of the poor—warnings for a comfortable, self-absorbed church.
• Zechariah urged exiles to become “prisoners of hope”; we voluntarily handcuff ourselves to Jesus, not to politics, the economy, or shifting morals.
• The greatest power on earth is still the blood of Jesus; our history never has to define our destiny.

• Story: Christine, once an unnamed, abused child left in a hospital, testifies that Calvary overrides every human label or wound.

Strain, press, and “press the button”

• Paul’s words from prison model forward motion: forgetting what is behind, straining toward what lies ahead, pressing on toward the goal.
• Straining means exercising faith muscles that atrophied during years of paralysis and sweat-pants comfort.

• Illustration: In the hotel elevator a guest cursed because nothing was happening. Christine simply stepped forward and pressed the call button—an image of decisive faith action.

Key Truths

• Longing for what God has finished with will freeze your future.
• Hope in Jesus anchors us when everything else is shaking.
• The Church’s mission—make disciples—has not changed despite global upheaval.
• Your past, good or bad, is no match for the power of Christ’s cross.
• Forward movement requires intentional straining and persistent pressing.

Response

• Examine where you are looking back with longing; repent and release it.
• Handcuff yourself to hope—declare daily that Jesus is enough.
• Re-engage your faith muscles: serve, give, witness, and pray with fresh urgency.
• Act on the next step God shows you—“press the button” rather than complain that nothing is moving.
• Refuse narratives of victimhood; confess that Christ’s work defines your destiny.

Closing

Christine’s urgent plea is simple: do not get stuck. The world may be on fire, but the Church carries unquenchable hope. One backward glance cost Lot’s wife everything; one forward step can launch you into God’s purpose.

“Life Church, it’s time for some of you to press the button and get moving into the purpose and the promise that God has for you.”

Prayer

The congregation prayed for breakthrough: asking God to lift every weight, empower forgiveness, restore hope, and give strength to move forward through Christ who strengthens us.