Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:7-11
Are You Hiding Behind Your Excuses?
Making excuses is something that we can all be guilty of, but it is not something we should make a habit of doing. In fact, we shouldn’t do it all, especially in our spiritual lives. It is easier for us to say no to God sometimes because He is not standing in front of us, or on the other end of a phone call or text. Moses was called by God for a very special purpose, and he had a whole list of excuses for God as to why he was not the one for the job.
Why do we make excuses to God when He calls us for a very specific purpose? There are many reasons, but the number one reason is fear. Maybe it is fear of failure, or fear of getting up in front of a crowd to teach. It might be fear of public speaking, fear of losing, fear of embarrassment, consequence, or rejection. Moses was suffering from self-doubt because of past failures. He has made some bad mistakes in his younger years and was sure his glory days were over. There was no way in his mind that he could be of any value to God.
God knew Moses and all about his past mistakes. He also knew exactly what Moses was capable of, not what training he had already had, but what he was capable of. He created him for this specific purpose. He creates us and lays out the days of our lives, as well as the plans and purposes He has for us. He knows exactly what we are capable of, and it is far more than we think of ourselves. It doesn’t matter what is in our past, or what training or experience we already have. If He has a specific purpose for us to carry out, He will prepare us and give us what we need.
Excuses help psychologically and emotionally to hide our shortcomings,
feelings of being inadequate, vulnerable or foolish. – Van Houser
We hide behind our excuses when we are afraid. They may seem perfectly logical at the time – or they may not. You may feel a twinge of guilt if you know you are making an excuse you should not make. God is sufficient to cover everything we can make an excuse for. He did that with Moses. When Moses made an excuse, God told Moses that He would be with him every step of the way, and that He would stretch out His hand to help him. If God tells you He will help you, you have no excuse!
What excuse are you hiding behind? What are you excusing yourself from? When we excuse ourselves from the specific purpose God has for us, we are the ones who miss out. God blesses our lives when He uses us, not with notoriety or popularity, but He fills our hearts with the blessing of being used up for His glory. Don’t excuse yourself out of some of the sweetest moments of your life. He will equip us. He doesn’t ask us to be able, He asks us to be available. Make yourself available and quit hiding behind excuses.
