No Excuses

““Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”” Jeremiah 1:6

Do we ever actually think we are ready to do the hard things? More often than not we make excuses: We’ll start a family when we have enough money, I’ll make that change when God gives me a sign — not a small sign but a BIG sign like on the side of the interstate, I’ll tell them the truth of Jesus when the time is right, and so on and so on. Yet when we feel that initial nudging, when we hear that still small voice speaking to us, that’s all that’s necessary or needed to walk forward into the call.

“But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.” Jeremiah 1:7

God came to Jeremiah and told him, he was to be a prophet to the nations. But Jeremiah made the excuse of him being too young. And God’s response to him is the same to all of us – if I’ve called you, I’ll go with you, and when it gets hard, I will rescue you. He doesn’t leave us high and dry. God doesn’t appoint us for a purpose or call us to step out of our comfort zone without being right there with us, ready to lead us and guide us, ready to fight for us, and what’s even better is He’s ready to prepare us.

“Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.” Jeremiah 1:9

When God calls us, He equips us. Even when we’ve never done that thing before, God equips us.

I remember when I got pregnant with my first child, I was young. My first thought was “how am I going to be a mom”. I’d never had any experience with a baby, no babysitting for me, no nursery duty, no young siblings. I had no idea how to even hold a baby. So, when my son was born, everyone asked to hold him, and I was like “please do” because I was afraid I’d break him. But little by little God began to teach my how to care for my child, how to be a parent. My fears went by the wayside and oddly enough I had enough courage to do it again.

By the nudging of the Holy Spirit, I’ve stepped into the hard places often in my life, Probably more than I would have liked. But there are also times when I was just been too afraid to step in. I’ve never been disappointed by the times I’ve walked into the call God had for me because he was always there and he always prepared me. It’s only the times where I walked away from the call that I feel regret. Who knows what God would have done with those moments.

What’s holding you back? Don’t let fear give you an excuse. For in God there is no fear, so there are No Excuses to do that hard thing that he’s called you to.