DROP THOSE EXCUSES! Wednesday 22 August 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whatsoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. Romans 2:1

Read: Exodus 3:10-16

After his experience of the supernatural and God introducing Himself to Moses, he was given a specific assignment. He objected with reasons but they were not accepted. From this we learn that when God has decided to send you on an assignment, no excuse is good enough. You will notice that the more Moses excused himself from embarking on that assignment, the angrier God became (Exodus 4:13-14). Making excuses to avoid doing what God has assigned to you will easily put you on the wrong side of God’s judgement. Excuses can move you from God’s right hand to His left, from favour to disfavour, from blessing to curses. Has the Lord given you an assignment and you are piling up reasons for not obeying? You are toying with fire. After Moses saw “God’s red eyes”, he dumped his excuses. Drop those excuses and comply with your divine mandate.

When you look at the excuses people give for not obeying God, they can be classified under feelings of inadequacy, ignorance, pride, fear, unbelief, etc. For instance, Moses felt inadequate in himself to go before Pharaoh but God told him, “I will go with you” (Exodus 3:10-12). Whenever God gives you an assignment, He does not leave you alone to do it. He is there with you to supply what you lack. So ideally, every assignment is a joint-venture between God and the one assigned to do it. Do you feel inadequate? The One who is assigning you will back you up. If it bothers on ignorance that means there is something you don’t know that will be required of you in the course of performing that assignment. In Moses’ case, he did not know how to introduce God to the elders of Israel but God told him how to go about it. If only you can ask the Lord, He will give you the knowledge you require or direct you to where to get it. Don’t say, “I can’t go because I am not educated” because the Greatest Teacher is ready to supply all you need to know if only you can ask Him, and sit at His feet to be taught. If you feel too big for the assignment, that is pride, and that can easily bring judgement on you. Nobody is bigger that the assignment God gives to him or her. How can a national elder or a provincial pastor be sent to pastor a parish of 50 people? If that is what God is saying, run immediately to do it. The most unattractive assignment gets the biggest pay from God. If your refusal is out of fear or unbelief, examine the attributes and abilities of the One sending you. It will strengthen your faith.

KEY POINT:

Many people struggle for kingdom assignments that feed their ego while they run away from some other tasks. Neglected assignments such as sanitation and washing of toilets enjoy Heaven’s greater rewards.

 

Bible in one year: Acts 25-28