We learn at an early age the use of excuses. Often, to justify our behavior, excuses help us make the claim “it is not my fault.” The devil made me do it. Excuses also somehow seem to magically make us feel better for failing to do what we were supposed to do. The dictionary defines excuse as “a plea offered as an explanation of a fault or for release from an obligation or promise with the hope of being forgiven or understood.”

Excuses are our also defense mechanism. We put our hand out as if to say, “before you go any further, stop, let me explain.” What often follows is nothing more than a plethora of excuses.  

Not only do we make excuses to others, reality is that we (or at least I do) sometimes make excuses to God as well. We throw up roadblocks to God’s calling in our lives, with a laundry list of excuses and procrastinations. We try to avoid doing certain things He asks of us, laying out a case for why we are not the right person for the job. There have been times when I felt unqualified for what God has called me to. And if I am honest, other times, I simply did not want to do whatever it was.

Today I want to look at a day in the life of Moses in which he tried to make excuses to God; to which God answered each excuse with a promise.   

This story takes place in Exodus 3:1-4:17.

This day for Moses began just as I imagine every day for the previous forty years had begun: tending to his flock of sheep. However, on this particular day God has different plans. God spoke to Moses through a burning bush, revealing His intention to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey. I’m quite sure that this sort of encounter wasn’t on Moses’ agenda as he thought about his day while showering.  

The first forty years of Moses’ life can be summarized as years of privilege and success while the next forty years were years of wandering and waiting (read Exodus 2; Acts 7:20-33). It is likely that after those forty long years in the desert, Moses was devoid of any self-assertiveness that his soon to be divine calling would demand of him.

Let’s dive into the five excuses Moses threw at God and how God answered.

First, Moses said that he was not competent enough because he lacked identity (3:11) and God promised to be with Moses (3:12).

Next, Moses argued with God that he was not smart enough because he lacked information (3:13). God promised to give Moses insight (3:14-15).

When neither of those seemed to convince God, Moses turned to the excuse that he lacked respect or credibility with the people, which really was nothing more than him saying he lacked faith (4:1). God answered with a series of signs to strengthen Moses’ faith (4:2-8).

Moses kept going and next he pleaded with God that he was not gifted enough, that he lacked eloquence (4:10). To this excuse God promised to equip and empower Moses (4:11-12).

And finally, when all else failed, Moses used the excuse that really summed up his reluctance – he was unwilling (4:13). We now see God becoming angry (4:14).

The first four excuses seem to only be smokescreens to hide the fact that Moses really did not want to go, and this angered God. He had met every one of Moses’ objectives point by point, yet Moses still objected. Did God abandon his plan and find someone else? No, despite all the push back, God still showed divine patience, promising Moses the assistance of his brother Aaron (4:14-17). Moses did finally acquiesce, and you know the story – he led the Israelites out of bondage, where they spent forty years wandering in the wilderness.  

Moses spent forty years thinking he was somebody, forty years learning that he was really a nobody, then forty more discovering what God can do with a nobody.

So, today I ask you, what is God calling you to do? And more importantly, what is keeping you from being obedient to that call?

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Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling like you were in a wrestling match during the night? You laid in bed all night tossing and turning, worrying about the stuff of life. You wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed. We all face challenges in life, and whether it is financial, physical, relational, vocational, medical, or emotional, not one of us is exempt from the bumps and bruises in life. Sometimes those bumps and bruises only cause a minor sore spot, other times the broken bone is sticking out of your leg.

Many times, both in the little skin bruises and the major bone breaks, we find ourselves in stress overload, and in the darkness of night, those dark nights of your soul, the issues often seem worse. Have you ever felt like that? Or maybe you feel as if you simply cannot get away from your hurts and pains, or worries and fears, and there is no place to rest your weary and worn-down body and soul. Usually walking on a deserted beach while listening to the ocean’s sounds calms your spirit. Or, maybe, sitting quietly on your porch brings some peace. It could that you close your eyes and imagine somewhere over the rainbow; a place where trouble melts like lemon drops.

But, right now, none of those are of any help. The deserted beach seems gloomier than at other times. The porch is eerily silent, leaving your mind to spiral deeper into despair. Somehow, the rainbow has vanished and all you see are storm clouds. Even as you pull yourself into bed, the darkness of your dark room even seems darker.

You are not alone in experiencing those dark nights of your soul. God strengthened Jesus in his “dark night” at Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). He restored Elijah’s hope during his dark night of loneliness on Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:1-18).

And when Habakkuk wrestled with despair as he wondered why God seemingly was allowing the crimes of Judah to go unpunished, almost defiantly demanding an answer from God (Habakkuk 1:1 – 2:1), he receives assurance that God had a plan (vv. 2:2-3) on how He would deal with those who are unfaithful (vv. 2:4-20).

In the first sixteen verses of chapter 3, as Habakkuk cries out his dark night of the soul to end (vv. 1-3), God finally lays out His plan (4-16). And yet in the midst of Habakkuk’s continuing to wrestle with despair, the book ends with his expression of confidence in the Sovereign and Almighty God (17-19).      

First, let me say that I am in no way diminishing any struggles you might be facing, whether they be big or small. Now let me also say that we have a God who is both interested in your bumps and bruises AND who can also care for those bumps and bruises. He is a both/and God!

So, I ask you – Are you stressed, worried or burdened? If that is you, then today, and every day, wherever you are, whatever you are facing, Jesus invites you to a place of rest. A place that is immeasurably better than any other place, real or imagined. We find these comforting and inviting words in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He goes on in verse 29 to promise us that we will “find rest for our souls” when we come to Him. And this is not a one-time offer; it is an offer with no expiration date and one that allows you to use it over and over again. Jesus meets you in the darkest nights of your soul!

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Has something ever happened to you that at the time you had no idea why it occurred? Maybe without warning you lost your job. Perhaps a long-term relationship ended suddenly. You seemed to have life by the tail when out of the blue, you felt more like the tail. Sometimes things happen without warning or without explanation. There are times when somewhere down the road, we find out why those previously un-understood things happened. We can say, “Aha!,” now I understand. There are also times however when no real answer ever seems to come and we are left wondering, “Hmm?”

If you know me, or have read my writings, then you know that about sixteen months ago I suffered a stroke. A stroke that had no explanation. I had none of the typical symptoms that often lead to strokes. I have not been fearful of suffering another stroke. But, in all honesty, since there was no known reason, I did wonder if another would occur at some point. That thought quietly lurked somewhere in the caverns of my brain.

Well, last week we found the likely cause of my stroke. Atrial flutter. Atrial flutter is a cousin to Atrial fibrillation (Afib), both heartbeat irregularities. The week began with me short of breath and a feeling that my heart was racing. After a visit to my primary care doctor and an EKG in her office, I ended up first in the emergency room and then admitted to the hospital for what ended up being five days.

During my hospital stay it was determined that this flutter had gone on for a long time, undetected. Arrhythmia is known to cause blood clots, which can be dislodged from one of the heart’s chambers and move to the brain, creating a blockage that causes a stroke. My “Hmm?” turned to “Aha!.” My irregular heartbeat was fixed, first by an electrical shock that put my heart back into a normal sinus rhythm. After that, a surgical procedure was done whereby catheters were inserted into my heart to find and close the irregular electrical circuit that was causing my abnormal heartbeat.

Often times God works in ways that at the time make no sense to us. It is “Hmm?” and not “Aha!” He gives us the what, the when, the where, often without the why. Sometimes what God calls us to just does not make sense to us. To us, in our very limited perspective. The Bible reveals some things that are simply “hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16). The apostle Paul, after eleven chapters of trying to explain God’s glorious mysteries, says this – Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:33-34).

God said this to Isaiah – For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (55:8-9).

Rather than waiting for that “Aha!” moment, we are called to respond to God in the same way that Simon did when Jesus asked him to do something that was not understandable by Simon. Here is what Simon said – Master, we have toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets (Luke 5:5).

God does not enable us to understand everything completely. During his last week on earth, when Peter balked at Jesus washing his feet, here is what Jesus says – What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand (John 13:7).

So, unlike trying to figure out the reasons of life, God calls us to simply obey. Obedience. Not a word we like, but one that being a faithful follower of Jesus requires.

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Do you find yourself being influenced by the chaos in the world? As hard as you try, the lack of calm around you ends up getting “in” you, creeping into your mind and soul. Or maybe, let me describe it this way. You feel boxed in. Every place you look, mayhem. And no matter how thick your walls are, built to keep the world’s madness out, it always seems to find that one little crack and wiggles its way in. Both of those scenarios are true for me. How about you?     

Due to my stroke, my brain has a hard time categorizing and processing the activity around me. So, just like the two previous scenarios, external stimuli, even small amounts, tends to create immense chaos in my brain. In those moments, I do not experience peace. In fact, quite the opposite, leaving me feeling trapped, boxed in.

And let’s be honest, sometimes we create our own chaos, our own restlessness, our own turmoil. We run after one thing and then another, looking for calm and peace and contentment. However, that calm, that peace, that contentment, it is only fleeting. We then look elsewhere, only to have the same result.

Maybe today, you feel boxed in by the chaos both in you and around you. No matter what remedy you try, some good, some not so good, you just cannot quiet your soul, calm your spirit, slow down your mind. It soon becomes easy to stop trying to search for peace. Maybe it just isn’t attainable.

Then again, maybe it is! We just need to look in the right place.

On the night before He was crucified, Jesus delivers what is known as the Farewell Address (John Chapters 14-17) to the remaining eleven disciples. Early in that address (14:1-11), Jesus tells the eleven that he will going away to the Father, which I am sure created quite a bit of inner turmoil within each of them.

Immediately after dropping that bombshell, Jesus then tells his guys that he will be sending the Holy Spirit to guide them (14:15-26). But Jesus goes even further in trying to calm their inner turmoil, their inner unrest. Here is what we find in v.27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Those comforting words are bookends to the is entire section, as Jesus began his address in a similar fashion – “Let your hearts not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (14:1).

God offers us a calming peace. God’s peace is not dependent upon what is or is not around us. God’s peace is internal, not external. He offers peace that flows like a river. Picture a continually flowing river that brings a perpetual source of nutrients, abundance, and freshness to the land around it. We see these words in Isaiah 66:12 – “For this is what the LORD says: I will make peace flow to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flood; you will nurse and be carried on her hip and bounced on her lap.”  

God’s peace allows you and me to live, not feeling boxed in by the world’s chaos, but rather, to live peacefully and productivity amid our busy, chaotic, frantic, and frenzied world.

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We all need someone who listens to our greatest needs; that shoulder to lean on in times of trouble. We also need people that we can look up to; people who serve as role models and mentors to us. That person, or those people, provide us comfort and guidance, safety and instruction, strength and wisdom. Think for a minute. Who is that person for you? And maybe, as important, are you that person for someone else?  

Very rare us it that we find one person to fill both of those important roles, but in the person of the Triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit – three in one, one in three) we do have that singular place to go for both comfort and guidance, safety and instruction, strength and wisdom.   

Scripture instructs us to take our needs to God. Nothing is too big or too small for God. We see this in Philippians 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

So often we spend most of our prayer time and quiet moments with God time giving Him our list of needs, but we are called to do more than ask God to provide for us. We are made to worship and glorify Him. Isaiah 43:7 tells us so – everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

I want to share with you the first five verses of Psalm 103. These are wonderful verses to make part of your daily rhythm.

v.1 – Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 – Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits –

3 – who forgives all your sins, and heals all your diseases,

4 – who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 – who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(The psalm goes on to list more of the attributes and activities of God, all for the benefit of His children. Click here to read Psalm 103 in its entirety.) 

Make it a priority to spend time each day giving God the praise and glory He desires. Doing so helps you soak in His presence and His goodness.

After a long stressful day, who doesn’t like to soak in a warm bathtub with aromatic salts, a scented candle, a good book, and a glass of wine? Now think about this – as soothing as it is to soak in a warm bathtub, soaking in God’s presence is so much better. While soaking in the bathtub might relax us, it does not change us. Being in God’s presence changes us. It really does!   

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We all know people who always seem to be in a rush. They run from thing to thing, as the saying goes, like a chicken with its head chopped off. Did you ever wonder where that saying originated? After a chicken is decapitated, the adrenaline in its muscle tissue briefly causes the chicken to convulse, thereby the bird flaps its wings wildly, giving it the appearance of running around. We use that statement today to describe someone who is in a frenzied state.

How about the person who never appears to be in a hurry? They are the person who is always late to the party. The person who drives ten miles per hour under the speed limit. And they are that person you want to light a fire under, getting them to move faster.

We are a society that no longer wants to wait for anything. We have no patience for waiting. At the 1933 World’s Fair, Westinghouse introduced a shortwave radio transmitter than cooked food between two metal plates. Thirteen years later, Raytheon unveiled something called the microwave oven. However, it wasn’t until the late 1960s that this appliance became affordable to the general public, allowing households to dramatically reduce the time it took to heat food and water. Now today, for many of us, that two minutes it takes to pop popcorn seems like an eternity. Think about how we communicate with people these days. With emerging technology and the many social media platforms, communication that used to take days if not weeks is now immediate. And be honest, most of the time we have no patience for slow replies.      

That same philosophy of “I want it now” carries over into our view of how God operates. When we ask Him for something, we want it right now. For example, if you are unemployed and you are looking for a job, most likely each morning you pray for God to help you in your job search. For many, what that really means is “God, help me get a job right now!” That is not a bad request, but at least for me, when my “I want it now” timetable isn’t immediately met by God, I get upset and frustrated. Maybe you do too. If you are honest, whatever it is that you have been praying for and the days or weeks or months have gone by, you begin to wonder where God is and why He seems to be taking His good old time.

God is never early. He is never late. God is not constrained by the time limits we tend to put on Him. In 2 Peter 3:8 we read this, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” We see things through finite eyes; God sees things through infinite eyes. God sees the whole of life; we on the other hand, have very limited vision. Two things grow us in our faith, and neither are places we enjoy residing. Those two things are pain and waiting, and often they go hand in hand. Ecclesiastes 8:6 gives us this warning, “For there is proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery.”

I am not minimizing the struggles you might be experiencing today. Many of you are facing real hardships and time seems to be running out. He keeps His promises, and He always shows up. Maybe not how or when you expect, but He does always show up. What I want you to hear is that God is with you in your struggles. He is instructing you to wait for strength (Isaiah 40:31), wait for direction (Proverbs 3:5-6), and wait for provision (Psalm 62:5).

So today, while God might take longer than microwave popcorn, “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage, for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).

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