Are You an Excuse Maker?

Have you ever noticed that when there is something we don’t want to do we can find a dozen excuses to get out of it? This is not only true of doing small chores around the house, but it can also but true of our responses to God as well. Can you think of examples from the Scriptures of men and women who attempted to give excuses in order to keep from responding to God's request on his or her life?

To be more specific, has there ever been a time when God made a request of you and your immediate response was to offer excuses as to why it's not possible? Before you start offering excuses to God, it might be helpful to recognize that God may be sending you on an impossible but doable mission.

While we know the end of the story, Gideon began as an "excuse maker." If we understand the context of Gideon’s situation, we might not be too quick to point an accusatory finger.

In the book of Judges chapter 6 verses 1-6, we find that the Israelites were opposed by the Midianites. The Midianites practiced a type of warfare called "scorched earth."  A scorched-earth policy was a military strategy that destroyed anything that might be useful to the enemy while it is advancing or withdrawing from a location. As a result of this practice, Israel hid out in caves and eventually were so oppressed that they cried out to God. It was in this setting that an angel of the Lord appeared to a man named Gideon.

Gideon was facing what seemed to be an impossible situation and began to make excuses as to why he shouldn’t be selected. Notice that he was making excuses to an angel. That alone should be confirmation that God was with him. While we may not have an angelic visitation, do we hear the whispers of Holy Spirit as he asks us to step out in faith to accomplish what seems to be an impossible task? Will we be an excuse maker when that opportunity comes? Keep in mind that although Gideon didn’t believe in himself, God did. And while you may not believe in yourself, God does. Let’s determine in our hearts that as we approach another year, we will not be an excuse maker but one who says yes to HIM.

Father, I pray that each of us will have a YES in our hearts to whatever you ask of us, event though in the natural, it seems impossible. AMEN