Exodus 4 is a study of excuse-making.
Moses didn’t want to do God’s will in Egypt.
For a variety of reasons.
He was gripped by fear of failure.
He was gripped by fear of “payback” by Egyptian leaders who wanted to kill him because his murderous act 40 years earlier.
He was gripped by fear of rejection by the Hebrews to which God was sending him. Remember, Moses killed an Egyptian slavemaster to defend a Hebrew and yet was scorned by Hebrews as a result.
There were other fears, but this list makes the point.
Moses kept making excuses because he lacked confidence in God and in himself.
Fortunately, when Moses finally surrendered to God’s will, the plan of God worked out in an amazing way.
It’s likely that in some way, God has been calling us to being His tools for deliverance of people in bondage.
Perhaps the one in bondage is a co-worker who once attended church but has dropped out.
Perhaps the one in bondage is a relative who was an active volunteer but now only attends worship randomly.
Perhaps it is an adult child that dropped out of church during the late teen and college years and has not found his or her way back.
Are we making excuses?
Are we afraid of failing in our effort to bring them back to God’s pasture?
Listen, if our fear is related to the unfinished business of accepting responsibility for our bad choices that people know about, then we need to humbly confess our wrongs and ask forgiveness.
If our fears are related to not sounding eloquent in front of relatives and friends, then we need to understand that people won’t make life change based on our eloquence but instead on the clarity of God’s love and Truth shared through imperfect yet humble Christians.
And it’s entirely appropriate to ask for help in getting that Word across to others. Moses had Aaron for speaking help and we can ask God to send a verbal helper to us in the form of a pastor or elder or deacon or Sunday school teacher or other mature Christian friend.
We CAN resist making excuses for not making a difference in another’s life.
We just have to make up our minds to do so with God’s help.
As always, I love you
Martin
