Excuses, Excuses, Part 3

“But Moses pleaded with the LORD, “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.” – Exodus 4:10

The next excuse Moses used was he was neither a gifted or eloquent speaker. That was probably fair. Moses understood that speaking was not a strength of his. In fact, Moses said that he gets tongue-tied and his words get tangled. Given that, Moses had to be thinking to himself, “Why God, would you choose a guy who has a tough time speaking to be your leader? You know how painful it is for me to speak in front of crowds, to pronounce the words correctly, to think and say, just the right thing.” He had real doubts he could pull this off. 

Don’t we all.  Sometimes, we are like Moses thinking, “God there must be someone better than me to lead this small group; somebody who is funny or more intellectual; a deeper thinker; someone who commands the presence of people. I can’t be the best You have.”

But listen to what God says after all the excuses have been given: “Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.” God is once again sharing with and assuring Moses that He will be with him. I will help you with the words to say. I will teach you how to inspire people. I will be with you Moses. What do you say, Moses? Are you ready to lead? Are you done with these excuses? Are you willing to trust and put your faith in me? 

Moses decides to summarize his doubts: “…Lord, please! Send anyone else” (Exodus 4:13) God, I am begging you! Please, send anyone other than me to do this job for you. I really don’t want the job. Moses could only see himself as a nobody, a person who lacks answers, a person that is not believable, and someone who is slow to speak. Moses is telling God, I am no leader. I tend to sheep. 

God sees something else. God sees the final product in Moses. God knew Moses was the right choice in spite of his flaws. God had been preparing Moses his whole life from the time he was a baby and was scooped out of the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter. Yet Moses gives one excuse after another culminating in his pleading to send someone else. In the end, Moses went and with God’s help did a great job. 

When God calls us to do something, it takes faith and belief on our part. Moses was full of excuses as to why he could not lead. All God wants from us is to put our faith in and believe in Him. Often we won’t have all the answers. But we need to exhibit faith in God to overcome those obstacles. Philippians 1:6 says “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Discussion Questions:

1. Have you ever made excuses to not do what God asks you to do? Why do you think it’s so easy to make excuses to God?
2. Before we judge Moses, we each need to look inward and ask ourselves how many excuses we have given God the last few days, weeks, months, or years. Are we making some of the same choices that Moses made? Are we making excuses so we don’t have to do what you know God wants us to do? Are you making excuses for why we will not trust Him?