What's Your Excuse?

Excerpt taken from "God Every Day: 365 Life Application Devotions" by Mike Lutz

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)

* * * *

The German poet Christian Hebbel once said, “Whoever wants to be a judge of human nature should study people's excuses.” Whether it is “I forgot,” “I’m too busy,” “I had car trouble,” “There was traffic,” or the all-time favorite excuse of students, “The dog ate my homework,” we have all heard them and maybe even used them ourselves at one time or another. People fundamentally use excuses to justify their own actions or avoid getting involved in something they would prefer to stay out of.

Have you ever made an excuse to God? Have you ever sought to justify your actions before God or attempted to offer an excuse to avoid involvement in some opportunity that He was making available to you?

For Moses, it had been forty years since he attempted God’s will. At that time Moses was presumptuous, impulsive, and prideful, but now, after forty years in the backside of the desert, he had become reluctant, cautious, and humble. It was then that Moses had an encounter with God at the burning bush, and he was overwhelmed by what God asked him to do.

Moses’ reaction to this phenomenal opportunity that God placed before him was to make an excuse: “Who am I?” Perhaps Moses was thinking he was too old, or perhaps he was haunted by his past failures, or perhaps it was the fear of being rejected. I suspect that it was all of the above and more that led Moses to offer God a series of excuses.

God took the time to reassure Moses that He would be with Him, that He would guide Him, and that He would give Him the words to speak and the miracles to perform. In short, God was telling Moses, “I will take care of everything.” All Moses had to do was trust God.

We need to keep in mind here that Moses’ reluctance to do God’s will was not a rejection of God’s will, but it was the starting point for Moses to learn and understand that if he was going to do God’s will, then it would have to be God’s way. It was through Moses’ reluctance that he recognized his weaknesses, was able to admit his failures, could see his inadequacies, and was able to understand his need for God’s help. God used Moses’ excuse to reveal to him that it didn’t matter who Moses was; what mattered was who God is! Eventually Moses let go of his fears and weaknesses and allowed God to use him.

It is okay to recognize your weaknesses, because the fact is that we all have weaknesses and limitations, but we cannot allow them to keep us from what God wants to do in and through our lives. If we allow our excuses to get in the way of following God, then we are demonstrating a lack of faith in God’s ability to accomplish His plans and purposes through us. Everyone has shortcomings; no one can do it all. And the sooner we recognize our weaknesses, the sooner God can work by His strength through us.

Don’t let reluctance turn to rejection. Don’t let inadequacy to into inactivity. God gives us what we need, when we need it, in order to accomplish what He wills. What excuse is holding you back from obeying God and serving Him with all your heart? Don’t let excuses keep you from experiencing the blessings that God wants to give you.