Excuses, Excuses

God has a way of calling our attention when he invites us to partner with him in one of his projects. God caused Moses' head to turn by a bush that burned but was not consumed. That by itself should already have made Moses notice. Imagine how much more attentive he got when the bush spoke to him.

Lesson: When God calls your attention, you pay attention.

It was clear by what happened next that God's purpose was to make Moses his main partner in his great project to get his people out of Egypt. What an awesome privilege. You'd think, by the usual stellar billing Moses is accorded in church Bible storytelling, that he would have jumped at the offer.

Moses turned out to be just like myself and, I suspect, most of us. He gave the LORD a flurry of excuses.

But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11)

"What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" (Exodus 4:1)

"O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." (Exodus 4:10)

Moses was telling God in essence, "I'm a nobody. I don't know what to say. What if they don't believe me?"

Read the two chapters if you are not familiar with the story, but to every excuse that Moses gave, God had an answer. Allow me to paraphrase for brevity:

MOSES: "I'm a nobody."

GOD: "I know. I created you." (Exodus 4:11)

MOSES: "I don't know what to say."

GOD: "I'll tell you what to say." (Exodus 4:12)

MOSES: "What if they don't believe me?"

GOD: "It's not your job." (Exodus 4:2-9)

At the very first instance of Moses' hesitation God promised him, "I will be with you..." (Exodus 3:12)

Next lesson: When God sends you, no excuses work.

When God sends you, he is saying, "I made you for this time, this place. I made you for this unique time."

God is not looking for extraordinary people. God is looking for ordinary people who will trust an extraordinary God.