What's Your Excuse?

Note: This is not our little friend. But the picture of
this girl's face expresses exactly how I often feel.

We have a precocious little friend of about 4 years of age who has a fascinating way of answering a command when she is told to do something she doesn't want to do.

After the first instruction (and it doesn't really matter what the Thing is that she didn't want to do, because the next time that Thing will change, but the response stays the same!) she answers:

I cold!

Again she is instructed to do the undesired action and she responds:

I hungry!

Now, all this time you really need to be imagining a very melodramatic emotion behind those words. And when the instruction is again repeated, please picture the melodrama ratcheting up substantially as she exclaims:

I very sleepy!

The funniest thing about these responses is that they have absolutely NOTHING whatever to do with  her instructions. She is just looking for anything she has ever heard of as a reason to NOT do what she was supposed to do.

Silly girl. So glad I don't act like that.


My Turn
But then again, maybe I do act like that. In fact, I sounded a lot like this four year old just earlier this week.  God was telling me something He wanted me to do. Something I didn't want to do and I was throwing out every excuse in the book.

The problem was that He was instructing me to apologize for something that I did, and my pride was not hearing of it. The other person in the equation could start out the apologizing, thank you very much.  I must have had the same whinny, melodramatic voice as as our little friend when I answered my Lord:

I was perfectly justified because of what was done to me! (Translation: I cold!)

And then the Lord again instructed me to apologize, reminding me that "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, be a peace with all men." (Rom. 12:18.) I responded:

 It is his turn to apologize! (Translation: I hungry!)

I have to admit here that my resistance was beginning to wane. I have walked with the Lord long enough to know when I am beat. I really, really do want Him to have His way in me, which means I really, really do need to obey and follow Him. But even WITH that my prideful resistance stubbornly hung on as I was faced with the perfect opportunity to apologize, but instead of apologizing I exclaimed:

I don't WANT to! (Translation: I very sleepy!)

Once more, my gentle, loving Abba nudged me. I knew I was beat.
I had to obey.
I had to bend my knee.
I had to follow my Savior in dying to myself.
I had to do what was right because it was right, no matter what was or wasn't said by anyone else.

So I did it.
I apologized.  Rather poorly. It sounded half-hearted even to me. But I did it.

And God met me there.
With His grace.
And His forgiveness.

And my excuses sound pretty feeble and ridiculous on this side of the equation.

What is God telling you to do?
What is your excuse?

Take it from me. Dump the excuses and JUST DO IT! It will save a lot of time!