7. Stop the excuses and start to move

Now before we continue with Moses' story, sit back for a moment and think of the times where you had excuses when something was required of you. Think back to that time and imagine how different things could have been if you didn't make the excuses, but rather trusted in the Lord for a better life, a better future. Take a moment to ponder the thought and write it down somewhere, who knows, maybe the Lord will send another opportunity your way soon.

Now, let's continue, as we discussed, excuses form so part of our daily life that we simply continue using them. We don't really think about them as it comes quite naturally for most of us. If we don't want to do something, we immediately use an excuse. But at some point we either need to leave the excuses and start moving or we need to ignore the Lord's calling on our lives.

Let's continue with the story of Moses and see how it unfolds. We already discussed Moses' first two excuses, but Moses had another excuse up his sleeve after the first two failed. He turned the tables back on himself and looked at his frail human body and immediately said that he is not a good speaker. He can't possibly lead a nation of plus minus two million people. His voice was simply not up to the task. He would never be able to do it.

Now let's stop the story there once again and look at our own lives. Do we not do the exact same thing? We look at our frail human bodies and instantly come up with a convenient excuse.

'I am not fit enough to be able to do this task.'

'My health is not good, the Lord cannot possibly expect this of me.'

'I am not as talented as other people, the Lord must be mistaking me with someone else.'

'I simply cannot go without enough sleep.'

'I am not a natural leader. How can the Lord expect me to lead this gathering?'

Etcetera, etcetera.

And here comes the answer of the Lord:

"Who makes mouths?" The Lord asked him. "Who makes people so that they can speak  or not speak, hear or not hear, see or not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, and do as I have told you. I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say." Exodus 4:11,12.

And He wants to say that to you today. He made you and He knows you inside out. Nobody knows you better than He does, you don't even know yourself that well. And He is telling you today, that whatever your weakness is, He can turn it into a strength for His Kingdom. He will use you to glorify His Name. You only need to listen and obey and leave the rest of the 'worrying' to Him. He will work mightily through you, you just simply need to stop making excuses! If He wants you to do something, the supernatural will happen and you will be able to cope. The fact that you have a weakness is great, because then nobody will ever be able to give you the glory, no, all the glory will go to Him where it belongs! You will easily live out your purpose with Him working through you.

Now Moses listened to what the Lord had to say, but in desperation he still didn't want to go and begged the Lord to send someone else! That is very interesting to me, yet it shouldn't be, because we as humans desperately try to get out of situations that make us feel uncomfortable too. Situations where we feel we are out of our depth. Moses must have felt that this task was totally out of his league. He was just a shepherd boy in a foreign land, looking after sheep which wasn't even his own. In today's terms he would probably have been a foreigner in a country, maybe a guard looking after someone else's possessions and here comes the Lord and tells him that he was to become the mayor of a big city of 2 million people and not only that, he should radically change the whole direction the city was going in. Daunting task? I think so. Would we have felt inferior and totally unqualified? Of course. We would have instantly thought of a hundred other people that would do the task much better than we ever could. Even if we are unhappy with our lives like we have established Moses was, but still the change is too big and the odds are against us. It is a formidable task. And therefore we try to steer God away from us and point out to Him that other people would be much better for the task. We try to hide and hope that He would find someone else. We beg Him to leave us alone.

Now what is wonderful to me is that after this, Moses' excuses stopped right here. Moses started to move. After his excuses failed he didn't delay. He immediately went to his father in law and told him that he wanted to return to Egypt. He received his blessing to go and instantly went back to Egypt. Amazing. Imagine if he didn't move, where would he have been? I would definitely not be writing about him today and no one would have known about him. He would have died in the wilderness as someone who could have been great and declined the one exceptional offer made to him. He would have died wondering what could have been. He would most probably have seen the Israelites moving out of Egypt, and he would have wondered how wonderful it must have been to lead a mighty nation such as this alongside the Almighty God. He would have been sorry that he didn't listen. But luckily for him it didn't happen, Moses moved and that has made the world of difference in his life.

Therefore I am looking at you today and asking you, no begging you, to not let that chance pass you by. Do not let the offer go. Stop your excuses and look up to the Lord and say 'Yes, I don't feel as if I can, but with You alongside me, I know anything is possible.' Take the bold step, it will be worth it! He has chosen you, because He knows you can. Go on, make Him proud.

Lord Jesus, give us the courage and the boldness to take the first step. We know that is all you ask of us. You will provide the rest of the way. Thank you, we love You. Amen   

2 comments for “7. Stop the excuses and start to move”

  1. Gravatar of Madel FourieMadel Fourie
    Posted Tuesday, 04 May 2010 at 7:45:56 PM

    I read something in a similiar direction the other day that talked about the importance of service as a christian. It read:"Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth". It is important to not let excuses stand in the way of serving God and others.

  2. Gravatar of RonelleRonelle
    Posted Sunday, 09 May 2010 at 3:34:28 PM

    God uses us 'just as we are'. He made us what we are, didn't He?

Post a comment

Comments closed