No More Excuses!
Moses was a common guy – at least that’s how he saw himself. He may have even had a worse self-image. After all, he was a murderer!
After fleeing Egypt because of the crime he had committed, it seemed that he had settled down on the backside of the desert living the life of a common shepherd. This was the perfect job for a guy on the lam. It was a lonely existence in isolated places; days filled with the monotony of grazing sheep moving to the rhythm of the daytime sun and the yearly seasons.
That is, until God interrupted his routine.
One day, out of the corner of his eye, Moses saw something. Something was burning. The longer he looked, the more curious he became. It seemed to be a bush that was on fire but the blaze continued for far longer than it should have taken for this small bush to be consumed.
This peculiar sight strangely drew Moses closer. Upon further examination, he was shocked to hear the voice of God commanding him to remove his shoes because he was standing on holy ground.
In that moment, God explained how He was going to use Moses to release the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Being the man that he was, a criminal in hiding, Moses began making excuses.
Do any of these excuses sound familiar?
1. God, I don’t have the ability to do this!
Exodus 3:11 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?”
2. God, I’m not smart enough!
Exodus 3:13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
3. God, people won’t believe me!
Exodus 4:1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’”
4. God, I’ve got issues!
Exodus 4:10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
5. God, there are more qualified people than me!
Exodus 4:13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”
Deion "Prime Time" Sanders is one of the greatest athletes of all time. He played two professional sports at the same time. He was an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves and cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons. He is the only athlete to have hit a Major League home run and scored an NFL touchdown in the same week.
Sanders grew up on the streets of Fort Myers, Florida. He was one of many would-be athletes in the area. However, most of those young athletes did not go on to become professionals - although many of them were even better than Deion when they were kids.
Speaking of those guys, Deion called them “Idas.” Why? Because he hears them say things like this a lot, “If Ida practiced, Ida been a millionaire. If Ida had some breaks in life, Ida been a pro. If Ida been lucky, Ida played in the big leagues.”
There are probably a lot of “Idas” in your life – people who make excuses not to live up to their potential. Don’t be one of them! Excuses justify all kinds of destructive behaviors.
A business magazine published what they said were the top 10 excuses for not completing a job.
1. I forgot.
2. No one told me to go ahead.
3. I didn’t think it was that important.
4. Wait until the boss comes back and ask him.
5. I didn’t know you were in a hurry for it.
6. That’s the way we’ve always done it.
7. That’s not in my department.
8. How was I to know this was different'
9. I’m waiting for an O.K.
10. That’s his job—not mine.
Do any of these excuses sound familiar?
Can you relate with Moses’ self-doubt?
Have you ever been an Ida?
No more excuses! God delights in using common, ordinary people to do extraordinary things. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 says,
“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
If you think this passage describes you, then you are in good company. One thing I’ve noticed about many people is that we all have feelings of inferiority somewhere in our lives. That’s why we relate with Moses and David – with Gideon and Isaiah – with Peter and Paul - with the Centurion who asked for his servant to be healed and the woman caught in the act of adultery.
These were all ordinary and even flawed people who did extraordinary things because they understood that they served a God bigger than themselves.
We serve that same God!
No more excuses!