As Human beings we tend to thrive on coming up with excuses.
There is always an excuse to justify why we are late for work, why we eat so much or so little, why our children behave the way they do. Why we don’t go to church or why we keep ripping and running.
Some of these are legitimate but most of them are simple a poor way of saying no. I think we even walk with a pocketful of excuses just in case we need one in a hurry it is in easy reach.
What I realize not only do we have excuses for each other but we also come up with just as many excuses when God has asked us to do something.
Rick Warren puts this best. Here is how he responds in “The Purpose Driven Life” to those who make excuses concerning why they cannot serve the Lord.
“Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was co-dependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was a widow, John the Baptist was eccentric, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, Martha worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed marriages, Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts, Paul had poor health and Timothy was timid”
The 12 men called to be God’s disciples could have come up also with a lot of excuses as to why they were not fit to serve, but they did not- common men, unimportant folks. In the end they turned the world “upside down” for Jesus.
When Jesus calls us to follow him, He’s not looking for the smartest or strongest. He does not call you because of what is in you but instead of what He can do through you. Feel honored that you were chosen and just watch and see what He can do with your inadequacies. You have no valid excuse!
In His Service,
Vilma