What excuses do you use with God? You know, we all have them. God speaks to your heart telling you what to do, and you come up with this reason and that reason for not obeying. For me, it happens when I know God is telling me to share my faith with someone, and I am uncomfortable. I come up with all sorts of reasons why I should keep my Christianity to myself. “God, I will offend them.” “What if they don’t want to hear about you.” “God, I won’t know what to say.”
Moses was full of excuses. God was calling Moses to lead His people out of slavery. What an honor! But the only thing Moses could think about was how there was no way he was the man for the job. God had promised Moses success and victory, but Moses could not get off his lack of ability. Look at the excuses Moses made:
▸ I’m a nobody. They don’t even know me. (Exodus 3:11)
▸ They don’t know who You are. (Exodus 3:13)
▸ They won’t believe me or listen to what I have to say. (Exodus 4:1)
▸ I am not able to do this because I have a speech problem. (Exodus 4:10)
▸ God, send someone else. I can’t do it! (Exodus 4:13)
With each excuse, God had an answer. God told Moses over and over that He would be with Moses and that everything that happened would be the work of God’s hand. It was not whether or not Moses could pull all of this off. The issue was whether Moses would be obedient to what God had called him to do. Moses ability was not the issue, but his availability was. When Moses would make himself available to God, God would do all the work. The results would be awesome!
Take some time to read back over all of the excuses Moses made to God, and read God’s response. Then take a few minutes to think of times in your recent past where God spoke to you and told you to do something. It may be that God was calling you to trust him with your life for salvation. Or maybe he told you to witness to someone. Or maybe he told you to leave a habit or a bad relationship behind. What excuses did you make? Write a few of the excuses out on a piece of paper, then write what you think God’s response to that excuse might be. Remember, with God, all things are possible.
