What parent hasn’t had the experience of telling their child it was time to go, only to find them dragging their feet and trying to negotiate the departure.
In Genesis chapter 19, Abraham’s nephew (Lot) is living in the wicked city of Sodom, where he’s become a leader. One evening, Lot encounters two angels sent from God to destroy the city, and he convinces them to take shelter in his home.
The wickedness of the people of Sodom becomes undeniable when the men of the city storm Lot’s house and demand he turn over the two visitors for the purpose of sexual gratification.
At this point, the angels urge Lot and his family to evacuate the city and escape the coming destruction. But despite the gravity of the situation, Lot and his family members drag their feet. Finally, just before sunrise, the angels take Lot, his wife and his daughters by the hand and forcibly lead them out of the city to save them from the destruction.
Why were Lot and his family so hesitant to pack up and go? Maybe it was because Lot found it hard to leave his sons-in-law, who thought he was kidding and refused to leave. Maybe Lot and his family found it hard to leave behind all they had built and accumulated. Whatever the reason, they were procrastinating when they should have been packing.
Has God called you to make some kind of change and you’re procrastinating? God can be merciful and patient with our hesitancies, just as He was with Lot and his family, but eventually, the time comes where we must stop procrastinating and start packing…before things get worse.
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.