NO EXCUSES...

“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

Have you ever given God an excuse (or multiple) before?  Have you ever known what it was you needed to do or that God was moving you to do something and in response you gave excuses as to why you couldn’t do it?  Or you were the wrong person for it?

That was Moses.

Moses had an interesting past.  He was given up by his birth mother after a wicked Pharaoh ordered all male babies to be thrown into the river to stop Israelite population growth.  The daughters could remain living, but all baby boys had to go!  Pharaoh couldn’t risk losing his empire to a nation of people who were reproducing at a much greater rate than his Egyptian nation was. 

However, by God’s grace and sovereignty, Moses’ little life was spared as he was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter when she saw a basket floating down the river with a crying baby inside.   That little, crying baby was Moses.  From then on, he would be raised as an Egyptian to adulthood.   

Fast forward to grown-up Moses – one day he was walking outside and saw the horrible mistreatment of a Hebrew slave by an Egyptian.  In rage, Moses killed the Egyptian and tried to cover it up by burying him in the sand.  Apparently, the body was found by some Egyptians later on.  When Moses is questioned about it, he runs for his life and eventually meets up with some Israelites who take him in.  He gets married and settles down with them for a while – until God came calling.  But all the while, Moses knew he was adopted, an outsider, and a murderer.  He had a past.

            Eventually, when God calls Moses and begins telling him what he must do, Moses gives every excuse in the book.  “I’m a nobody.” (Exodus 3:11); “What if they start asking questions?” (Exodus 3:13); “What if the people won’t believe me?” (Exodus 4:1); “I’m not a good speaker.” (4:10); “I can’t do it.” (4:13)  Any and every excuse that a man could have made, Moses made it.  God was patient to a point, but after Moses claimed he just couldn’t do it, God became angry with him, and rightfully so, but God also provided an answer for every concern/excuse Moses had.  In the end, Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness and to the point of entering the Promised land.  Moses, a man of excuses, became a man of production.

            Do you doubt yourself?  Do you doubt that God can use you for His purposes?  Do you use the same excuses Moses did?  Believer, if God used a man like Moses, He can certainly use someone like you and I.  Always remember, “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”  (1 Cor. 1:27)  Let’s all pray, repent, and move forward with the Lord’s help in living a Christian life of NO EXCUSES.