Have you ever caught yourself offering God excuses over responding out of obedience? There have been numerous times where I have felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to do something, but I immediately tried to justify why I wouldn’t be the right person for the job.
I think a lot of our excuses are rooted out of our comfortability or our insecurities. We seek to avoid awkward or difficult situations. We rather stay in our comfort zone than step out in submission to what God wants us to do. It is a struggle with the flesh, am I right?
I am sure that you have heard the saying, “God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.’ This is something I hear ALL the time in the Christian community. And I believe it fits perfectly with what I am talking about.
There is a passage in the Bible that I recently reread and it left me feeling a little convicted. It is a story I am sure many are familiar with…that is the story of Moses.
Moses was born Hebrew but raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. I just imagine the tug Moses must have felt as he was raised in an Egyptian household but was Hebrew by blood. After killing an Egyptian and fleeing to Midian, God later spoke to Moses through a burning bush. Can you imagine being in the presence of the Most High, and Him directly speaking to you? It was there that God told Moses how He saw the oppression of the Israelites under the Egyptians, and He called Moses to rescue them.
What did Moses say in response? He questioned God. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11) Moses went back and forth with the Lord for a little while until he finally told God, “Look I am not an eloquent speaker.” As if God didn’t already know this.
I LOVE God’s response to Moses.
“Who created your mouth? Who gave you a tongue to speak?” (Exodus 4)
This got me thinking…how many times do we make excuses to the One who CREATED us and knows us better than we know ourselves? He designed us and knows our weaknesses and what areas we lack in. Yet He still wants to use us and all of our imperfections to grow His Kingdom or set the captives free. And He will be magnified through our inabilities.
God used Moses–timidness, excuses, and all– to bring the Israelites into the promiseland and free them from the hand of the Egyptians.
Now I ask you…what is it that is holding you back from being fully obedient to the Holy Spirit is calling you to do? Do you feel insufficient, uncomfortable, maybe afraid?
Remember that the One who knit you together and knew your name before you were born is the same One who desires to use you. It doesn’t matter if you feel unequipped or inadequate, God can and wants to use it all!
Journey to Dominican 