WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE

• DAY 19
• Fear File: Moses
• Scripture: Exodus 4:10-12

Then Moses said to the Lord, “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.” So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

EXIDUS 4:10-12

Can I ask you a question? What is that thing you would like God to fix? If He could just do that, you will feel more confident, more able, more qualified and more likely to do what God says you should. That is often what we consider a defect (what is lacking). And it always ends up being an excuse.

For example, you are called to speak to nations but you can barely speak before 3 people. So you are afraid that you will freeze on stage. Or there is a book in your spirit but you haven’t written a mere blog, so you are afraid that you might embarrass yourself.

It may be that your past misdeeds have become your present defect and you have drafted it as a plausible excuse. You want to be pro life but you’ve acted pro choice in the past and you’re afraid that you will be exposed. You want to talk about purity but your past body counts might protest. You want to write about forgiveness but you have a record of vengeance. Or you’ve been to jail etc

The thing is, these excuses are facts. They aren’t just in your head. You probably don’t have the skill. You actually have a speech defect. “God, There is a defect in me that you are not seeing. If you’re paying attention, you will see that my defect disqualifies me from this assignment.” You say. But a fact is far from truth for them that believe.

Yet He chose you

What did God say to Moses? I made the mouth. In other words, I’m aware of that weakness. I know what I signed up for. 

I can hear God telling you now that He knows, yet he chose you. Do you really think that when God said to hold a conference He didn’t know your account balance? Do you think He didn’t know you couldn’t speak English? He is aware. Yet he chose you.

Did you notice that God didn’t heal the stammering of Moses? He used him, flaws and all. Some of us would like God to wipe our past from the memories of people. Or to heal our defects but He doesn’t always do so.
I have seen powerful preachers who are disabled in their bodies but are healing disabled people and Pastors preaching with HIV in their body or another terminal condition and yet God uses them to heal sicknesses.

I know of men without conventional education who own billion-dollar businesses and their wisdom is studied in schools. And I still know of people who had to go learn for God to use them. You would think that God will send them to preach to people with similar defects but He doesn’t always do that. He sends an illiterate to speak to Ph.D. holders and you wonder how they didn’t hear his bad grammar.

You cannot put God in a box!

Beloved, God is unpredictable in the most beautiful ways. When you expect Him to zig He will most likely zag. And that is why we cannot preach His strategy with one as a rule for many. We will put people in bondage. To one He says, “eat before you sleep.” To another, he says, “eat the moment you wake up.” He can tell you, “pray all night” and tell another, “why are you denying yourself sleep praying all night?”

So it now becomes erroneous when we make our experiences a doctrine or blueprint for others and that is why many are in the bondage of religion.

What is He saying to you?

Instead of making excuses, how about you ask Him about His strategy? You can say: “Yes God, I will do what you say. But please show me how.” How shall these things be, seeing I know not a man? How am I supposed to speak with stage freight? How am I supposed to heal, or lead physically able people with this physical disability? God has a strategy and if you ask Him, He will reveal it. 

For Moses, His strategy was to give him utterance. He said, “I will teach you what to say.” He also gave Him Aaron. For you, it could be that you have to sign up for an online course. Or he gives you boldness like never before. Whatever it is, God always has a strategy.

So, ask him, “how shall these things be?” and say yes to Him. Silence the fear that has trapped your mind and live in the fullness of purpose

Shalom.

We have been having an amazing experience studying Moses and imposter syndrome. If you missed yesterday catch up here

God’s strategy for me with this devotional is to write here and still record video for social media platforms. Watch the accompanying videos here and don’t forget to subscribe.