Luke 14:16-24—“(16) Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: (17) And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. (18) And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. (19) And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. (20) And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. (21) So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. (22) And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. (23) And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. (24) For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.”
Do you find yourself making excuses for your lack of performance? It’s time to shed the excuses and face reality. Our trust (or lack of trust) in God is revealed, at least in part, by how we view circumstances and how we respond to His call.
God has called us to be light in a dark world. He has called us to win the lost and to disciple them according to His Word. Of course there will be obstacles, and the enemy will seek to sabotage our efforts at every turn.
An excuse is an explanation offered as a reason for being excused; a plea offered to justify a fault or for release from an obligation; a pretext for subterfuge.
We may have little, but when we refuse to make excuses, God turns little into much!
We may be opposed, but when we refuse to make excuses, we are victorious through Jesus Christ.
We may have other needs, but when we seek Him first, he supplies all our needs…and then some!
Let’s stop making excuses and trust the Lord!
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Some quotes on Excuses
“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else” ~Benjamin Franklin
“He who excuses himself, accuses himself” ~ Gabriel Meurier
“If you don't want to do something, one excuse is as good as another”~ Yiddish Proverb
“Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible”~ Francois de la Rochefoucauld
This is my favorite: “We are not in a position in which we have nothing to work with. We already have capacities, talents, direction, missions, and callings” ~ Abraham H. Maslow
