30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.
Fear can be a powerfully motivating factor in our lives. It can also be a paralyzing factor. Lot has just witnessed the destruction of his city and the death of his wife. Only he and his two daughters have survived. Instead of staying in the small town they were so eager to flee to, they have now moved into the mountains, the very place the angels told them to go in the first place. From their choice of new residence, a cave, I would say that the destruction of the cities came from above. They don’t want to be subject to the same punishment, so they hide. I imagine they fled the small town in the middle of the judgment on their home cities. As the sky opened and reigned down judgment, they would have been running the extra few miles to the mountains. That night would have been filled with terror and grief. The sounds of the destruction probably overwhelmed their senses. The smell of the fires probably filled their nostrils as the smoke filled the valley. They hide in a cave. In fact they make the cave their temporary home. Their reaction is like so many of ours when there is a tragedy in our lives. We desperately want security and safety. When a loved one dies, we want to know that the world is safe. When a disaster strikes we seek shelter. This is totally normal. What happens after this determines if we will live in fear for the rest of our lives. We need to move out of the cave at some point. We can’t keep living in that fear state forever. Our bodies, minds, and spirits just can’t survive living in that aroused state. They will break down. We will burn out. We don’t know how long Lot and his daughters lived in the cave, but eventually they moved out. We must all eventually move on, move away from the grief and pain of loss. We don’t necessarily forget the painful experiences, but the emotional pain does fade over time, if we are willing to move out of the cave.
The Arnold Journey 