No more excuses!

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh….(Exodus 3:11)

Moses was having a pleasant time. He was relaxing while tending to his sheep in the quiet stillness of the night. However, for no apparent reason, a bush went up in flames, and didn’t burn up. Then the voice of God was heard. Moses was terrified and hid his face. Then it got worst.

God proceeded to give Moses directions to speak to the mightiest man on the planet. He had to tell the ruthless pharaoh of Egypt to let the enslaved Israelites go.

Moses came up with one excuse after another. First He said “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:11) In other words I am not important enough to speak to pharaoh. Then Moses said, “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?” (Exodus 3:13) The implication was that he didn’t know what to tell the people who were supposed to follow him, the Israelites. God told Moses what to say, but Moses was not done giving excuses he said “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.”(Exodus 4:1). God performed several miracles before Moses to show him what he would do as proof. But Moses was still not satisfied and said “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.” (Exodus 4:10)

Four excuses, Moses truly had self esteem issues. He was certain that he lacked the qualifications. He must have been thinking “Just let me take care of my sheep, that’s all I am good for.” But he was wrong.

Many of us have had these moments, when we doubted our abilities or capacity. Perhaps we thought “Lord I know you don’t make mistakes, but there must be someone better for this task, responsibility, or position.” But we are wrong also. If God calls us to do something or hold a position he will equip us. He will educate us and prepare us. If He wants us that means we are the best person for the job. It could be a talent or an expertise we have or perhaps a quality in our character that God sees. God can see the gifts he has placed in us, while we sometimes only see our failures and weaknesses.

With Moses the excuses finally stopped and he did go to pharaoh. Ten plagues later, and a disastrous defeat for pharaoh’s army and the Israelites were free. The whole time all Moses held in his hands was a staff, but the power of God was behind him every step of the way.

If we say yes to God’s calling in our lives His power will be behind us every step of the way, the enemy will be defeated and what awaits us will surely be the promise land.

You may like these Verses on excuses

Help, I need to escape!

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.  Exodus 14:10

Pharaoh and his mighty horde were advancing rapidly, a massive army ready to pounce on a defenseless group of slaves. There were woman, children and the old among them.  They were going to be slaughtered for sure.  To their backs stood the red sea, nowhere to hide, nowhere to run.  They were trapped!

There are times in our lives when we feel the same way. Without an escape, a place to run or a solution.  We look, but no one is hiring, no medical procedure for this condition, no lawyer that will take the case.  There isn’t a friend or a family member that can make a difference.  We need to be rescued.  We need a real live hero.

For the Israelites God was that hero. They all saw that terrible horde coming right at them.  They could hear the sea behind them. All they could do was brace themselves for their terrible end.  But then God spoke to Moses,   “Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” (Exodus 14:16) God made a super highway!  The Israelites fled on dry land where there had been no dry land.  They escaped by a path that did not exist just moments before. God can make a way!

When we see no solution, the truth may be that there is no solution. But God can make a way where none existed before.  He can provide the job where there was none, heal the sick when no one else can, defend the accused when it seems impossible and provide a solution no matter what the problem.

Pharaoh’s army would pursue them along the same path God had just created. But scripture reveals that after the Israelites had finished crossing, Moses would wave his rod over the sea again and walls of water would vanquish this terrible enemy and close this path forever.  Israel was safe! God can be this hero in our lives as well.

If you are in an impossible situation and no solution seems possible, place your trust in the God who can cause a super highway to appear in the sea when needed and make it vanish just as easily.

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Change can be scary!

In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Exodus 16:2,3

Fear comes to mind when we think of change.  Perhaps it comes from the unknown or just a lack of trust.  We like things the way they are, better to leave things alone.  But sometimes change is out of our control and sometimes it’s really a good thing.

Both of those scenarios were true for the Israelites.  They had been enslaved for over 400 years.  You would think they were ready for a change.  Is it possible for anyone not to realize when they are in bondage? Yes it is possible.  Sometimes we are in bondage due to ignorance, fear, laziness or just sin. One prime example of bondage is addiction.  Addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, money, attention, food, work, gaming, a person and countless other things can make a slave of you.  In some cases we may think this addiction is a good thing. That would be wrong.  A student once asked me doesn’t everyone have an addiction.  Without hesitation I answered “No!” I quickly explained just enjoying or liking something does not make it an addiction. It becomes an addiction when it controls us.  Gaming is a great example.   Who among us does not enjoy a good game, but when our relationships suffer, or we can’t hold down a job or pass our classes in school because of it, then it’s an addiction. We become slaves.

These Israelites were enslaved and many wanted to be free I am sure, but it seems like many were enjoying the security and the provision of the Egyptian.  God had other plans. Moses showed up and 10 plagues later they were free.  Freedom has its price.  They had to defend themselves and seek shelter and food among other things.  But they were free! They should have all been celebrating and loving Moses.  But instead they complained about all the “wonderful” things they had when they were slaves. Crazy! It took 40 years, but a new generation did arise ready for the change God had in mind and loving every minute of it.  That was one of Israel’s greatest generations.  They would conquer the promise land.

Are you ready for change?  Perhaps you are in bondage and don’t even know it. Are you ready for all that God wants to do in your life? We are often unaware of the opportunities God is opening up in our lives.  What we see as pain is God removing something that has to go. What we see as difficulties is simply an exercise in making us strong.  What we see as persecution is meant to just build our faith.  Those impossible situations are there just to teach us to Trust God so that we may become the warriors the Israelites became.  We too have a promise land to conquer in our lives.  But we must learn to endure the present hardships, challenges, trust God and take a brave step in Faith.  I have a feeling, things are about to change!

Try these Verses on Fear

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