Stop the Excuses!

“ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

- Luke 9:59 (NKJV) 

We all know the voice of excuses. It sneaks in softly, whispering: “Later. Tomorrow. When I’m ready. When the timing is right.”. The things you said you were going to do yesterday are still undone today. It’s another day, another week, another month that the professional development course is yet to be completed. The personal spiritual retreat, and the business plan are still not written. The last New Year’s resolution has now moved to next year’s resolution. What is your excuse?

Let us go back in time to fully understand how excuses can deprive a man from what God has fully given. Have you ever tried shifting the blame? Pointing fingers, blaming your parents, a past relationship, or dodging responsibility, hoping no one notices? 

Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12-13 NKJV) 

Notice the pattern:

1. Blame someone else – “The woman You gave me…” 
2. Deflect responsibility – “She gave me the fruit…” 
3. Justify the action – “And I ate it…” 

Faith begins where excuses end.

In the passage above, we see a pattern of blame and excuses. Rather than answering God’s questions, Adam chose to blame the act of disobedience on Eve. Seeing the burden of responsibility has been passed to her, Eve quickly came up with an excuse and passed over to the serpent as the reason for not following God’s directives. These are all indicators of the fall of man. You are in Christ now – a new man – no more room for excuses. As a member of God’s mighty army, we do not give in to excuses, or a thousand reasons why something cannot be done. We follow God’s commands and His Word, even when they are not convenient.

From our anchor text in Luke 9:59, Jesus met a man who was ready to follow, and yet, in the same breath, he gave an excuse. “Let me first go and bury my father.” On the surface, it seemed reasonable. But Jesus wasn’t saying family isn’t important; He was pointing out the danger of letting excuses delay obedience to God’s calling.

Excuses are like quicksand. They look solid at first, but the more you stand on them, the deeper you sink. Every excuse whispers, “Not now, not yet.” Yet God says, “Now is the time. I am calling. Step forward.” The first time the Holy Spirit gave you a nudge to wake up in the night to pray, you thought, just a little more sleep. After all you have worked all day…God understands. But when the enemy is sowing tares and you need to intercede and stand in the gap for your family, such excuses could be dangerous! We must develop capacity and refuse to give in to excuses, no matter how appealing they might be.

We can invent dozens of reasons why we cannot serve, forgive, love, obey or take the next big step. But excuses will always find a way to justify our delay. What if today you responded differently? What if instead of offering an excuse, you simply said, ‘Here I am, Lord. I will follow You.

Faith begins where excuses end. Courage begins when excuses stop. God doesn’t need your excuses; He needs your “yes”.

Song

My help, my help, my help

All of my help cometh from the Lord 

My Help- Donnie McClurkin

Prayer – Lord, forgive me for the times I have blamed, deflected, or justified wrong choices. Help me to stop making excuses and start living in Your truth. Teach me to take responsibility, walk in obedience, and trust Your grace to cover what I cannot fix. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Bible in 1 year: Ezekiel 11-13; James 1