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Ask God for help instead of procrastinating

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Faith & Reflection

In Lewis Carol’s “Alice in Wonderland”, Alice arrived at a fork in the road. She asked the Cheshire Cat which direction she should take. The Cat answered, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” Alice replied, “I don’t much care where”, to which the Cat replied, “Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk.”

Life is filled with decisions and they can be as difficult as they are unavoidable... and they always matter; even the ones that seem small and inconsequential. They are so because collectively, they form the fabric of our lives and also because we have to live with their results and repercussions (good, bad and in between).

Procrastination doesn’t work. It simply forces others to make our decisions for us. As a boy, Ronald Reagan went to order a pair of new shoes. The cobbler asked him, “Do you want square or round toes?” Reagan couldn’t decide.

Several days later, the man saw Reagan on the street and asked him again what kind of toes he wanted on his shoes. Reagan still couldn’t decide, so the shoemaker told him to come by in three days to pick up his new shoes. When Reagan picked up his shoes, he was surprised to find one square toed and one round-toed shoe! The shoemaker told him, “This will teach you to never let people make decisions for you.” Reagan later said, “I learned right then and there, if you don’t make your own decisions, someone else will.”

Some decisions are regrettable. A fictional account relates that an angel appeared at a faculty meeting and told the college dean that, in return for his unselfish and exemplary behaviour, he would be rewarded with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitation, the dean selected infinite wisdom. “Granted!” said the angel, and immediately disappeared. Everyone turned toward the dean, who now sat surrounded by a faint halo of light. Finally, one brave colleague said, “Say something!” The dean looked at them and said, “I should have taken the money.”

Unlike Alice, I care a great deal where I want to get to so, as a Christian, when I come to forks in the road, there are certain things I do to help me decide which way to turn. I search the Bible for particulars and/or principles to direct me. I speak to my Heavenly Father in prayer asking for His guidance.

And I am confident in this process because Proverbs 3:5,6 promises, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”

— Pastor Ross Helgeton is senior pastor at Erskine Evangelical Free Church.