Excuses, Excuses

Exodus 1:8-14; 3:1-15

"I'm too little/too big."
"I'm afraid."
"What if I fail?"
"I'm too young/too old."
"I'm not any good at what you are asking me to do."
"Says who?  You're not the boss of me!"

Do any of these excuses sound familiar?  I'm guessing we've all used them at some point in our lives.  Take a look at the excuses Moses used when God told him he had chosen him - Moses, a shepherd, a murderer (yes he was) - to free the Jews from their yoke of Egyptian slavery:

Exodus 3:11 - Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh?  (see excuses above)
Exodus 3:13 - So who are you, God - in other words, why should I listen to you? (a paraphrase)  (see the last excuse above)
Exodus 4:1  What if the people don't believe me?  (in other words, what if I fail?)
Exodus 4:10 - I'm not eloquent - to paraphrase this excuse, Moses is saying - I don't have what it takes - see second to last excuse above.

How does God respond to our excuses?

Exodus 3:12:  I will be with you.
Exodus 3:14:  I Am who I AM. (to put it plainly, I'm God - you're not.)

This isn't about us, my friends.  It's about the God we trust.  The God we believe in.  The God who saved us from our sins.  It's about him, not us.

I just retired, and I am loving this phase of my life.  However, I've just been offered the opportunity to do some consulting, and guess what - I'm really nervous about it.  What if I fail?  What if I don't deliver on my promises?  What if I'm not a good consultant - heavens, I've never done this before! What if, what if, what if?

See excuses above.  If I put my trust in myself alone, I will fail.  But what a joy it is to give God the glory!  What are you finding excuses for?  Lay them at God's feet, and ask him to be with you.  It's his greatest joy, to spend time with you and to reveal his plans for you.