How Are You Making Excuses With God?

We’ve been discussing setting goals and making Vision Boards in my college courses recently.  I remembered when I first started doing mine that I experienced quite a bit of doubt, especially on the Vision Board.  Some of those dreams, visions, and goals just seemed so lofty and out of reach to me. I found myself making excuses for why I might never achieve them.

Then I heard a quote from Steven Furtick: “If the size of your vision isn’t intimidating to you, there’s a good chance it’s insulting to God.”  That really struck me and hit me right in my pride!  Anything great that God calls me to do MUST be beyond my reach in order to force me to rely on God and not on my own merits, talents, or efforts.

What about you?  When you think of great dreams and visions for your life do you experience some self-doubt?  Do you find yourself making excuses?  Are there some things that you are hesitant or even scared to put in writing or picture form?  Good!  That means then that you will HAVE to lean on God to help you achieve them, and you and others will see that only God could have helped you do that “impossible” thing.  He loves to show off by the way! 😉

You can’t argue with God and win

A few years ago, I was looking back through one of my old quiet time journals.  I came across an entry back in February of 2014 where I was doing exactly what I just described to you.  I was making excuses with God.  At the time I was really feeling God leading me to write, blog, speak, etc.  It was a crazy, scary concept for me to even imagine.

Then, conveniently the story of Moses kept coming up (hmmm…could that be God’s voice?).  I was reading through the books of Exodus 3 and Exodus 4.  God was calling Moses to be a leader, but Moses protested when God told him to go to Egypt to lead the people out.  He kept making excuses with God (this sounded very familiar to me!).  Funny thing though…Moses learned something that I’ve had to learn the hard way too–you can’t argue with God.  He always wins.  Making excuses doesn’t work with Him because He always has a counter.

Exodus 3:11-12

• Moses making excuses: Who am I to lead the people out of Egypt?
• God counters: I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.

Exodus 3:13-14

• Moses making excuses: If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?
• God counters: I AM who I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.

Exodus 4:1-5

• Moses making excuses: What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?
• God counters: Perform this sign of turning your staff into a snake and back into a staff again.  Then they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors really has appeared to you.

Exodus 4:6-9

• Then God counters two more times before Moses even has a chance to start making excuses again:  Perform a second sign of turning your hand leprous and restoring it again, and if they don’t believe the first miraculous sign they will be convinced by the second sign.  Then, if they still don’t believe after these two signs, turn some water from the Nile River into blood.

Exodus 4:10-12

• Moses starts making excuses AGAIN: O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.
• God counters AGAIN: Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.

Exodus 4:13-17

• Moses is STILL protesting: Lord, please! Send anyone else.
• Now God gets angry and counters: All right. Take your brother Aaron with you.  He speaks well.  You tell him what to say, and I will be with both of you as you speak and instruct you both in what to do.  Take your staff with you too and perform the signs I have shown you. 
  God has a “comeback” or counter for every excuse you make. #makingexcuses

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It’s not just you…It’s God THROUGH you

Moses kept making excuses of why he couldn’t do it or why he didn’t think he had the ability or talent and why he didn’t think people would listen to him.  God basically told him “It’s not just you…It’s me THROUGH you.  Now go!”

“Now go!  I will be with you as you speak and I will instruct you in what to say.” Exodus 4:12 (NLT)

God basically told Moses to just quit making excuses and to just do what he was told.  I feel like that with my kids sometimes…Stop arguing!  Just do it!  I guess we tend to be like annoying kids to God sometimes too!  (By the way, as a side note…God countered Moses 7 times.  In scriptural symbolism the number 7 means completeness and perfection.  I find it interesting that in these instances God is showing Moses that He will complete him in the areas that he is lacking.)

God told me to stop making excuses

God was trying to tell me the same thing He told Moses: stop making excuses and do what you’re told!  I believe God told me to write…to work on some books, to blog, etc.  At the time of my journal entry, I seemed to keep coming across different obstacles to writing (at least in my own thought process and frame of mind at the time) a lot of which were my own insecurities and protests.  Here are some of the things I had written down:

• It’s too hard to write
• Self-publishing is too expensive (there are a lot of upfront costs that may take a while to recuperate)
• It’s too difficult to get noticed by publishers
• I have nobody to offer wisdom and advice to me without having to pay them a fee (which is usually extremely pricey)
• I entered a writing contest to try to earn a scholarship for an online author’s academy and didn’t win (which did a number on my insecurity issues… maybe I’m not talented enough, maybe I’m not called to do this, etc.)
• Who would listen to me or read what I write?
• What do I have to offer?
• There are already so many books out there. Why do I need to add to it? Why would people really want to buy my books when there is other stuff out there (maybe even BETTER stuff)?
• There are already thousands of blogs. How will mine even get noticed?
• What if I come across as fake or that I’m just trying to make a buck (because I DO eventually want to make money doing it)?
• I don’t want to do all of the suggested ideas to get noticed and to gain followers. Many of the suggestions seem so desperate, ingenuine, or fake to me (they don’t seem like me).  Do I really need to do all of those things anyway if God has called me to do this?  I feel I would be prideful by just trying to get a lot of followers.
• Will people think I’m stupid or just a “rookie” or too young to know anything or be able to help?
• What if my stuff isn’t that good?

God has not called me to fail

I could go on and on, but the idea I’m getting at is that if God has called me to do something, like Moses I just need to obey and stop protesting and making excuses.  He will have a “comeback” for every excuse I make, just like He did for Moses.  If God has called me to it, He’ll lead me through it! 

God has not called me to fail.  He won’t lead me into harm.  If it was His idea, it will work with His help.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

So no matter how scary and overwhelming writing, blogging, speaking, etc. may seem, God will be with me and instruct me through the process (Exodus 4:12).  I just need to do it!

Many in the Bible had doubts

Another thing that comforted me was that many of the greats in the Bible (almost all actually) had doubts about their callings and instructions.  Doubt is a common weapon of the enemy.  In an interview with Lysa TerKeurst regarding his book, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice Above All Others, Pastor Steven Furtick mentioned that “doubt is a constant companion to destiny”[i].

He also stated, “That inner conflict isn’t a contradiction of your destiny or your calling.  It’s actually proof that your calling exists.  It shows you that there must be something great in you that the enemy is fighting against.  The point is that you have to press past it because what’s on the other side is so great that you’re meant to accomplish that there’s going to be resistance.”[ii]  He goes on to say that when you can take this perspective, your doubt can actually fuel your faith.  (You can click here to see the interview directly in Vimeo.)

Take Some Practical Steps to Stop Making Excuses With God:

• First, go ahead and write it down–Make your dreams and goals big enough that you HAVE to rely on God to accomplish them.

Are there things that you think maybe God has called you to do but you don’t feel like you have what it takes to accomplish them?  Do some of your God-given dreams and desires seem so out of reach?  Take the scary step to go ahead and put them in writing.  Dream big!

• Second, stop worrying.

God wants to say to you, “If I’ve told you to do something, it’s going to work.  I’m not going to let it fail.  I’m not going to lead you to harm.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

• Then, realize that you CANNOT win an argument with God.

He will always have a counter for all of your excuses.  You might even be able to specifically think of some that He’s already told you.

• Next, know that you are NOT alone—God will help you accomplish what He’s called you to do.

You are probably right that you can’t accomplish some of those things in your own efforts, BUT…With God all things are possible!  He will complete you in the areas where you are lacking!

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Mark 10:17 (NLT)

“and in Him you have been made complete…” Colossians 2:10 (NASB)

• Furthermore, realize that your doubt might be an indicator of your destiny.

Your doubt may very well be resistance from the enemy.  Press past it in order to accomplish something great.

• Now Go!

Do what God is telling you to do and stop making excuses.  As Joyce Meyer is famous for saying, “Do it afraid!”

• Lastly, say this prayer:

God, continue to give me the power and will to obey you and follow your instructions. Help me to open my ears to hear your instructions and to follow all the steps that you give me. Thank you for showing me the path to follow (Psalm 25:4, Psalm 25:12), and thank you for smoothing out the path ahead of me (Isaiah 26:7).

How are you making excuses with God? Share with us by leaving a comment below. 

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Update: Originally posted 4/28/2015

[i] Ministries, Proverbs 31, director. I’m Not Prepared to Fight My Struggles! Vimeo, 11 Feb. 2014, https://vimeo.com/86469182. Accessed 1 Nov. 2021.

[ii] Ministries, Proverbs 31, director. I’m Not Prepared to Fight My Struggles! Vimeo, 11 Feb. 2014, https://vimeo.com/86469182. Accessed 1 Nov. 2021.