The Lord wants to use each one of us, and only if we are available and seriously desire to do so can He use us. Every believer in Jesus has a purpose to fulfill and sometimes we miss out because of some excuses that we make. Interestingly, the bible gives us many examples of those who made such excuses. As we look at some of them, it will help us evaluate ourselves, and enable us to not give such excuses, but rather make the best use of every opportunity that comes our way to serve God and be a blessing to others.
Here are some common excuses that we make.
1. I can’t
A good example for this is Moses. God had a mighty plan for Moses which was why he was saved at birth, brought up in a palace. Nonetheless, when Moses fled into the wilderness fearing Pharaoh’s wrath and spent 40 years in the wilderness, he came to a point of discouragement, a feeling of worthlessness and he had developed a low self-esteem. When Moses encountered the Lord at the burning bush, God revealed himself to Moses as the ‘I am,’ and the Lord also performed mighty wonders right there. The burning bush that was not consumed, the staff that turned into a snake and vice-versa, the healing of Moses’ hand that turned leprous when he put it into his cloak and was healed when he put it in again. These signs should have been enough for Moses to know that the Almighty, miracle-working God was calling him. In spite of it all, Moses was unwilling and had several reasons for wanting to opt out.
This was one the excuses that Moses gave in Exodus 4:10-14, But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses (ESV)
Moses highlighted his weakness and inability to speak fluently, and considered himself unfit to stand before Pharaoh or to lead the people of Israel. Though God encouraged Moses and assured him that He would be with his mouth, Moses still refused, and this made God very angry.
God made each one of us unique, and has gifted us differently. Hence, we should never compare ourselves with others, or put ourselves down based on our inabilities. If God calls us to do something, we must do it even if it is something we are not comfortable doing or something that we think we are skilled to do. God will equip us; He will take our weakness, and display His strength through them.
The same is true of our children. We must encourage them to be all that God wants them to be, and never compare them with other children or belittle them because of their inadequacies.
Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;” (ESV)
Instead of saying to God, “I can’t” if we can say “I will with God’s strength” we can, and will surely accomplish much. When Moses obeyed and went, God used him to bring a mighty deliverance to the people of Israel.
The next excuse that we can hear often is ….
2. I am afraid
When God called Gideon to save Israel from the hand of the Midianites he was hiding in a winepress and threshing wheat. The Israelites had been so intimidated by the Midianites that they were filled with fear, and were just trying to survive. However, when the people of Israel called out to the Lord, He wanted to send Gideon to be the deliverer for the Israelites.
We read in Judges 6:14-15, “And the LORD turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?’ And he said to him, ‘Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.’” (ESV)
Gideon’s excuse was that his background was not good. His clan was the weakest and he was considered least in his father’s house. We read that Gideon was so filled with fear that he had no courage to take on the responsibility that God was entrusting him with. God refers to Gideon in Judges 6:12, as a “Mighty man of valor” which was in total contrast to how Gideon actually felt.
The world often judges people based on family, background, education, financial status etc. No wonder then, that some are looked up to, and others are looked down upon. Also, since the world is dominated by the strong and powerful, we often feel weak, powerless and fearful.
Paul explains this beautifully in 1 Corinthians 1:26, “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” (ESV)
Think about the people Jesus chose, and called to be His disciples. Some of them were ordinary fishermen and obscure men, whom the world would never have noticed. However, the transformation that came about in these men, especially when they were filled with the Holy Spirit was so astounding that this was the testimony that was given about them.
We read in Acts 4:13, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (ESV)
Paul also says in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (NKJV)
With God on our side we can get rid of fear because He will give us the courage to face every challenge, and we can, with the power of the Holy Spirit boldly proclaim the good news.
This excuse is one that all of us would have made at some point….
3. I am busy
In Luke 14:16-24 Jesus told them a parable of a man who invited many to the great banquet he had prepared.
We read in Luke 14:18-20, “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’” (ESV)
Notice how it says ‘all alike began to make excuses.’ Only a few excuses are mentioned but it looks like all the people who were invited made some sort of excuse.
Some of the most common one these days is, “I am so busy,” and “I have no time.” Our schedules are so hectic and the responsibilities of daily work, family, children, and various other commitments put tremendous pressure on us. In spite of this, observe how we still make time for everything that we think is necessary, including spending enough time on leisure and social media. Someone said, “A person being too busy is a myth because people make time for things that are really important to them.”
How often we make so many excuses when it comes to things pertaining to God, church, prayer, fellowship or helping other people? Often we miss out on God’s eternal plan for our lives because we are so caught up with the mundane, and are so focused on the here and now. This is also a major reason why many children and young people are not seeking after God. As parents, when we pressure them to focus so much on their academics or other interests that we wish for them to pursue, but don’t stress on the need for matters pertaining to their spiritual growth, we will be followed by a generation that does not seek after God or value the things that pertain to God.
We read in the parable that the master, in his anger rejected those who were invited, but made excuses, and brought in those who were outside- poor, crippled, blind and lame.
If we as children of God who are part of the church don’t do what God has called us to do because we have not time, the Lord will still do His work with those outside, and we will certainly miss out. Let’s take time to focus on what’s really important and eternal, and deliberately set aside those worldly things that vie for our time and attention.
Here’s an excuse that is made deliberately…
4. I don’t want to
In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus spoke about the parable of the talents
In this parable the master entrusted to his servants talents according to their individual abilities. To one he gave five, to another two and to another one. His expectations from them on his return was in accordance with what they had received, and there was nothing unrealistic about it. However, the man who received one talent did this.
We read in Matthew 25:18, “But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.” (ESV)
A talent in those days was about 30 kilograms of gold - it was not a small amount of money. I think there could have been several reasons why he hid his talent. Maybe he compared himself with others, and thought that the talent given to him was not a big amount. He may have just been lazy, and did not even want to put it to any use. However, the reason he mentioned for not using his talent was that his master was an unreasonable and hard man. This was certainly not so, because the master only entrusted to him as much as he was able to handle, and his expectations were also the same. The master was angered with this man for wasting the talent, and he referred to him as a worthless servant.
The stance that the man with the one talent took was a hard one that said, “I don’t want to use what was given to me.” Could it be that we have hidden the gifts and talents that God has entrusted to us, and we are not using them as God expects us to? Sometimes, life’s challenges, difficulties, and losses make many people bitter, and they begin to complain against God and feel that God has not been fair to them. God reminds us that He loves us and He has entrusted to us much, so we can fulfill His purposes in our lives. The gifts that God has given us include our time, energy, resources, spiritual gifts, relationships all of which we should use wisely so they can be multiplied and bless others. We must also remember that there is a day of accounting and God will hold us accountable for all that He has entrusted to us.
This is an excuse that comes from our lack of sensitivity….
5. I didn’t even know or notice
In Matthew 25:31-46, we read about the parable of the sheep and goats.
In this parable Jesus spoke about the final judgement when the Son of Man will come in all His glory, and divide the people like a shepherd would, the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left.
This is what the King says to those on His right Matthew 25:34-36, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. (ESV)
The ones whom Jesus called blessed were those who did the simple and everyday things that anyone could do, feeding the hungry, giving a drink to someone who was thirsty, welcoming a stranger, clothing someone who had no proper clothes, visiting a person who was sick, or visiting someone in prison. Notice how He says, “I was hungry” “I was thirsty,” “I was sick,” and so on, because every little deed that was done to those in need, God considered as being done unto Him.
The question the righteous asked the Lord was “When did we do this?” Helping others and serving them had become so much a part of their lives that they did not even realize that they were doing this.
The other group were those who had the same opportunities, but did not even notice them and didn’t care, and hence were judged for the same. They were probably surrounded by people who had all of these needs, but they were so insensitive, that they did not even bother to help them in any way.
We live in a society that is so individualistic the focus is often only on us and our family. There are many opportunities to serve the Lord if only we can keep our eyes open, and our hearts in tune to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Keep in mind that the unseen, unnoticed things we do in the name of the Lord never misses His eye..
Every day we have umpteen opportunities to serve the Lord and to bless those around us. These could be simple things like visiting, praying, serving, helping, counseling, teaching, helping those in need, encouraging, writing, calling and so much more. The question is, whether we are willing to be useful instruments in the hands of the Lord, or whether we are going to let them pass us by with our excuses? The next time we get an opportunity to serve the Lord in any way, let’s stop saying, “I can’t,” “I am afraid,” “I am busy,” “I don’t want to” or “I didn’t even know.” Instead let us say, ‘Here I am Lord, fill me, anoint me, and use me for your glory.’
Esther Collins
www.thelifetransformingword.com
