iQuit making excuses – Part II

Many of us have never considered our excuses as a destructive habit. However, if we consider the many opportunities and blessings from God that we miss out on because of excuses, it would cause us to rethink how we approach the excuses we make. For some of us, excuses are such a habit that we don’t even notice anymore. So let’s look at how we can break this dangerous activity and overcome our excuses.

Three WAYS TO QUIT MAKING EXCUSES

1. GET GOD’S APPROVAL BEFORE MOVING

Many times, we make excuses because we think we will fail if we do what we actually want. This happened with Moses in the Bible. Moses was called by God to save the Israelites, and he knew it. He tried to accomplish God’s will in His own strength and failed. Acts 7:23-25 NLT says, “One day … [Moses] saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defence and avenged him, killing the Egyptian. Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realise that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.”

After this failure, Moses ran away, and when God called him to deliver the Israelites in God’s strength, Moses was so afraid to fail again that he made many excuses (Exodus 3).

When we step out in our own strength and experience failure, we lose self-confidence and get into the excuse cycle. What we should do, instead, is wait for God to give His approval or tell us what to do and then rely on His grace to do it. When Moses did that, God performed wonders and brought a great victory, which is talked about today.

2. DON’T EXPECT PERFECT SITUATIONS BEFORE TAKING ACTION.

Waiting for the perfect or ideal situation is a common hindrance getting things done. Moses could find many reasons to avoid action:

n His past failure,

n His advanced age (he was 80 years old);

n The magnitude of the task (going up against the powerful Pharaoh);

n Past rejection by the same people he was trying to save (Exodus 2:14).

The circumstances were not great, but God does not need perfect situations to work miracles. Jesus and Peter walked on water during a storm. When Mary, the mother of Jesus, gave birth, she had to place Jesus in a manger.

God’s encouragement to Moses is the same that He gives us, regardless of the circumstances: “…I will be with you…” (Exodus 3:12A NIV). God will always provide what we need, and we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

3. REALISE THE POTENTIAL THAT GOD GAVE US

Moses did not realise it, but God had invested a lot in him. God had deliberately allowed him to grow up in the palace so that he would be educated in the best universities of Egypt. He was skilled in leadership after growing up with the Pharaoh. He did not have a defeated mindset because he did not grow up as a slave.

It is similar with us. Whatever good plans that God has for you, He has already created you to succeed at them. He has given you the passions, desires, innate abilities that will make you stand out. Your potential makes you the perfect candidate to live God’s best for you. So we can live in victory, looking for the solutions rather than focusing on the problem because God has designed the situation for your good.

Friends, breaking out of the cycle of excuses and defeat is easier than you think! Let’s decide today to quit making excuses and start making progress with God.