patience

 

A few weeks ago, a priest whom I usually go to confession with told me the story about  being sent into the world after being ordained. You see, he is from India and the last thing that he wanted to do was go to America. It seems like our reputation preceded us!

But God had a different plan for him. He was called to America, and like any good pastor, he goes where he is needed. But before he left his home, he gave so many reasons why he was not the right one for this mission.

As he was giving his reasons, his story reminded me so much like Moses, particularly when he encountered God through the burning bush. Like Moses, he was giving good (mortal) reasons why he was not the best pick, and each excuse that Moses came up with, God knocked down one by one.

Until finally, Moses talked about how he’s not an eloquent speaker, and here is we see that God had enough of the excuses.

"Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I the Lord? Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak" Exodus 4:11-12

 

For once and for all, God reminds us that he knows the limits of our mortality, far better than we do.  He knows because He is the Creator of all. To use our limitation, as a reason to why we could not do something is nothing but an excuse.

I look at what I’m doing in my life. By the grace of God, I’m learning and enriching my soul far more than I could dream. But I am constantly reminded that what I’m learning was not meant for me alone. That this knowledge was not meant to be treasure that I store for myself, but it is something that I was meant to share.

But I put myself back in Moses’ shoes.  I’m not good enough. I don’t write well. I’m not personable, I can only do well in small settings.   People won’t understand where I’m coming from. The  passage from Exodus reminds me that these are all excuses.

Each one of us are given different talents (1 Peter 4:10) and they are unique to us.  To use my perceived shortcomings as a reason to shriek of my duties, is not good enough.

How many of use use excuses to not do the things that we are supposed to do?  How many of us use the excuse of what we don’t have as a reason why we can’t do anything?  If you are like me, then the answer is: too often.

Here is what we can do:

  • Try to eliminate as much distraction as possible from our lives.
  • Meditate on our life about something that we should be focused on: what we should truly be giving our attention to.
  • Think of the talents that you have been given to make it happen.
  • Don’t focus on what you don’t have–if you don’t have that talent, then it wasn’t meant for you.

Above all, let us be reminded that God hears all our moaning and complaining, and sometimes I think he’s not impressed by it.  When we finish making excuses, let us remember that God is with us always, and he doesn’t ask us to do impossible things–since nothing is impossible with God’s grace.

 

Google+