Your Excuses May Be Valid
But are they worth keeping for what you are giving up?
And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” (Judges 6:14–15, ESV)
When you have three small children in the house, you learn to let go of some things. One of those things is always having a clean home. Most days, around the evening, our house looks like a literal bomb went off. No space is spared from the disaster, from the playroom to the living room to their bedroom. We typically ask our children to help us pick up the mess each evening after dinner. You would be shocked at the sudden ailments that occur to my children. Some evenings, their legs hurt. On other evenings, it’s their stomach or the head. Still, other evenings present more of a that wasn’t my mess problem. The excuses are endless and relentless.
In the above passage, we see Gideon having an unbelievable encounter with an angel. An encounter you think would instill a sense of confidence and possibility. This is his moment. He is about to step into his God-given destiny. Everything is about to change. Yet that wasn’t Gideon’s response at all. It was quite the opposite. Instead of feeling emboldened by this encounter, Gideon begins to make excuses. He tells the angel he is the least of the least and he might as well look for someone else. Can you imagine if the angel had listened?
I often wonder how much our excuses are costing us. There is something in us as humans that likes to focus on why we can’t do something. We say things like:
1. It’s not the right season.
2. I don’t have the money.
3. That’s not in my gifting.
4. I’m too busy.
5. I don’t know how.
6. I’m too tired.
And on and on.
Your excuses may be valid, but are they worth what you are giving up to keep them? I realized this when I began to take writing more seriously. Writing is something that has always been in my heart to do. I feel it’s something God has put on my life. Yet, I could never find the time with a wife, three young kids, and a business to run. I was too busy and too tired.
Then something changed. I realized the stars were never going to align. The season was never going to be perfect. I had to either start or let go of the dream.
So I started.
There were weeks where writing was 15 minutes here and 20 minutes there. Sometimes, it was clunky. It was rarely pretty or romantic. Often I was writing in the dark while everyone else in my house slept. Having a limited amount of free time is true. I finally just decided it wasn’t worth keeping to give up on my dream of writing.
I know this may not be easy to swallow, but I want God’s best for you. Often, we have to lay down some excuses to experience God’s best. If you sense God inviting you into something, accept that invitation. Start now where you are with what you have. And watch Him doing something amazing!
