Several years back, I wrote about Moses’ five excuses. They were made at the burning bush and recorded in Exodus chapter three.
To refresh your memory, when God told Moses that he was going to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses’ five excuses for not doing it were: Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out? Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them that God has sent me to you, and they ask me, ‘What is His Name’? What if they do not believe me or listen to me? He also told God that he had never been eloquent of speech and that God should send someone else.
Delving deeper into this, one cannot help but ponder: was there a hidden sixth excuse, perhaps related to Moses’ age? At the time of his departure from Egypt, Moses was 40; at the point he’s talking to God he’s 80. Could he entertain the thought that God should choose a younger person for the task? The scripture does not explicitly state that, but it’s a thought worth considering: could this be Moses’ unspoken “sixth” excuse?
As you age, do you feel you have missed opportunities? Are there things you believe God was calling you to do when you were younger, and now perhaps you think God will have to use a younger person for the task you never accomplished?
First, God’s call on your life is without repentance. In other words, if God has called you to perform a task, and you have not, then the only one being disobedient is you. God is patiently waiting for you to accomplish His will. Only you know what His call is for your life; however, allow me to offer you some encouragement from some well-known late bloomers.
Anna Mary Robertson Moses began a painting career at age 78. You probably know her as “Grandma Moses.” Her paintings were appreciated for their nostalgic charm. Grandma Moses exhibited her work internationally into her 90s and painted until a few months before her death at 101.
Julia Child was 50 when she began cooking on television. “The French Chef” debuted as a summer pilot series in 1962. Child enjoyed a media career and worked until her death in August 2004.
Toni Morrison wrote “The Bluest Eye,” her first novel, at age 40. She won a Pulitzer Prize at 56 and a Nobel Prize in Literature at age 62.
Most of the time, when we make excuses to God, it reflects our desire to “not really wanting to accomplish what He is asking.” It’s hard to give up our comforts to do something new, especially as we age. It’s not easy to lay the life you want to live aside to do the thing God has placed in your heart.
However, you will never know absolute joy and contentment until you step out in faith and do what God has placed in your heart. We will never know true success until we have exercised His ability and surrendered our inability, even if that “inability” is our perception of our current age. Remember, God qualifies the called — even at 80.
Most Popular
Comments / 0