A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Handford
When I was a child, and Mother was making biscuits, I would read again the line that was printed on every bag of General Mills Gold Medal Flour. It intrigued me so. It was only three words:
“Why not now?” 
I was deeply troubled by those words. What did they intend for me to do? And why now? And why not? I finally realized they were
saying Gold-Medal flour is so wonderful, that some day I would choose to use it instead of the inferior flour I was stuck with now. General Mills started using that slogan in their advertising in 1907. It was still there when I was cooking for my own children in the 50s, and it still intrigues me.
“Why not now?” The question implies that a decision needs to be made. It suggests that eventually we will see the wisdom of making that decision. It exhorts that we ought not to waste any more time
hesitating. First Kings 18 tells the story of a confrontation the prophet Elijah had with the 450 prophets of Baal. (Baal was the title of the god the Canaanites had created for themselves. He was, like his creators, foul and disgusting. His worshipers burned their babies in the fire to gain his approval.) So Elijah set out to prove to them who was really the Infinite Holy God. The whole countryside came to watch. So Elijah said to them,
“How long will you falter between two opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow Him;
but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).
The people didn’t answer him. They needed proof. So God, in a remarkable display of His infinite power, sent fire from Heaven to burn up Elijah’s sacrifice. Now it was time for the
people to make a choice. “Why not now?”
It may be in your life you have hesitated to make a decision you know you ought to make. It may be a need to repair a broken friendship. Perhaps you’ve needed to break off a bad habit, a poor use of time, or sheer indolence. It may be that you’ve been so busy you haven’t been the parent you need to be. Might there be someone you’ve valued as a friend, but whose influence on you seems to be always for the bad, not the good? Is it time to end that relationship? Have you had a dream of doing some good thing for God, but postponed it? Why not consider it again? Is this, perhaps, the day you need to turn from your own way and make a decision to trust Christ as your Savior? If so, why wait? Why not now? Eternity is at stake.
The Prophet Moses said to the Israelites, in his farewell message to them:
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you,
that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing;
Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
that you may love the LORD your God,
that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him,
For He is your life.”
Deuteronomy 30:18-21