All of us are accustomed to presenting our platters of excuses when God comes knocking at our doors for a favor at various times of our lives. That — or during our first encounters with Him.
This comes to make you feel both better (as you are not the first to ever do it) and uncomfortable, as even those who did it before, God had contingent measures to their stiff-necked-ness.
We begin with Sarah of-course: laughing that she was too old to conceive a child. Moses goes second in line; He asks God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)
Then He adds, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’” (Exodus 4:1)
God was patient enough, displaying miracles which he would demonstrate to Pharaoh. Firstly, Moses’ rod turned into a serpent. He asked him to place his hand in his robes, and when it was retracted, it was leprous. When he put it back, it healed. Even after all that, Moses still disqualified himself and said,
“Please, Lord, I am not a man of words (eloquent, fluent), neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Exodus 4:10 AMP)
The story goes on, until Moses yielded. This is why the Psalmist states that God’s mercies endure forever! They endure our excuses; for He’s seen the end from the beginning. He knows you’ll come around, and so He will wait.
Gideon too said he was the most insignificant of the most insignificant…
But what’s the conclusion of the whole matter?
That God has already factored in our excuses, and fears, and has (like I already mentioned) contingent measures and solutions in place to deal with each of our (seemingly) prohibitions and limits. If He has marked you down for His assignments, He has marked you down indeed. No excuse can stand in His way!
No sooner had Isaiah said that he had unclean lips than the Seraph flew to him and cleansed his lips with a coal’s touch.
Jeremiah said, “Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.” But the LORD said to Him “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” (Jeremiah 1:6-7)
SAY NOT!
The excuses we think are valid, may not be in His eyes. When we feel they will hinder us, God empowers us. He will not — as the old adage says — call the qualified, He will indeed qualify the called. And He won’t explain to you why He called you.
Infact scratch that.
Many are called but few are chosen. God will not explain why He chose you. He won’t choose the qualified. He will qualify His chosen.
He told Jeremiah,
“For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land— Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.” (1:18-19)
This was after the I-am-young card failed to pass. And still you can see the empowerment coming from on high.
The beauty about an all knowing God is that He knows the gravity of the cause of your excuse or fear. He knows He is sending you to a stubborn people. He knows He is sending you to a white people (if you are black). He knows He is sending you to an older people (if you are Timothy or Jeremiah). So He just hasn’t factored in your excuses, or shortcomings alone, but the assignment as well. That must minister comfort to you; and endow you with boldness.
He told Ezekiel,
“For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted.” (3:5-7)
That was the gravity of the assignment, but God empowered the subject by adding,
“Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”(3:8-9)
In the same manner that He said ‘let there be light’ and it was, when He said ‘I have made your face strong against their faces’ to Ezekiel, I believe it was …
When He told Jeremiah that they would fight against him and not prevail, it was receipt that God will not only consider the gravity of your fear. He will bring to your knowledge the gravity of His empowerment as well.
We must be convinced of His choice of us (first), and of His empowerment (next); otherwise, we will still fear to execute when He sends us. We will flee like Jonah.
When you read his story, Jonah never fled because he wasn’t empowered. He fled because he wasn’t convinced or satisfied with God’s choice of him. Chapter one says he fled from the presence of the Lord!
Meanwhile so many are begging for this very presence that he was running from. His issue wasn’t that the assignment was hard. His issue was he didn’t like the fact that God was talking to him about Nineveh. Wasn’t there a better candidate?
And don’t we all ask Him if there isn’t someone more qualified for the job!
Jonah’s issue was pretty much the same as everyone else’s. Moses wasn’t comfortable by God choosing him. Jeremiah claimed he was too young. Isaiah said he was unclean; and the problem is we all look at ourselves instead of recognizing the one who has chosen us.
He has already factored in our silliness, imperfections in our eyes, impairments … and still, chose us! — And still chose you!
The problem with Jonah was that he never bargained with God for a second like Moses or Jeremiah did. He hanged up the phone on God immediately, and boarded flight. Even on DND, God disturbed his environment, until he became humble before Him. And got convinced of God’s choice of him: until He believed that God was alright with sending him.
No wonder God always sends approvals of men shortly after His stamping of them. He told the world of Jesus ‘This is my beloved son in whom I’m well pleased.’ That alone is empowerment.
Somewhere else, He said “This is my beloved son, listen to Him” (Luke 9:35)
Of the same Jesus, He prophesied, “Behold! My servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.” (Isaiah 42:1)
He says to you too today that He delights in you (Isaiah 62:4) that He sings over you and that He is in your midst (Zeph 3:17). Whenever I read these, I get empowered. I get grounded in His love, and choice of me to teach His children the fear of Him (Psalm 34:11) or to show His marvelous works to all generations (Psalm 71:18).
He has said that He has gone before us and made all crooked places straight. (Isaiah 45:2) He has commanded that I fear not, for He is with me (Isaiah 41:10). These are all various ways of how He convinces me of that choosing, and how He has empowered me to do all that He desires me to.
And as time fares on, I find that my excuses become less and less. My fears melt and are blown away. For He has always factored it all in, and His voice in His word comes with the power to perform what He says; enabling me to metamorphose into a defence unbendable, and a machine result-oriented.
He knows about all your fears and excuses. He has factored them all in. And has contingent measures in place, not for you to fail … but to prosper exceedingly, in the assignments where which He’s sent you.
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