Our heroes are ordinary people who exercised extraordinary faith.  But when it’s our turn to trust God for something beyond ourselves, we often balk.  Here are 4 very logical reasons (excuses) not to trust God:

I can’t.

This was Moses’ first excuse when God called him to lead Israel from Egyptian bondage.  He asked, “Who am I, that I should go…”—Exodus 3:11. He could have said, “I’m just not qualified.  I’m just a shepherd now.  What do I know about rescuing millions of people?”  That seems like a responsible objection, right?  After all, Moses never led people, just sheep.  He simply did not have the credentials.  God should know better than to tap an out-of-touch, sketchy past, aging shepherd for such a big job.  So I can be sure God will not ask me to do something I am not qualified to do.

I’m afraid.

Moses left Egypt 40 years earlier in fear.  Why would he go back now?  What if his own people rejected him?  What if Pharaoh didn’t appreciate his new zeal for leadership?  These threats were real.  Moses’ life was vulnerable to attack.  So I should pay attention when I’m threatened.  Safety first, right?  I’m sure I read somewhere in the Bible that the safest place to be is in the will of God.  So God would never lead me into danger.  He would never ask me to put my life in harms way.  God never expects me to put my family or my fortune at risk.

People are against me.

Life was calm for Moses-the-shepherd.  Then God spoke to him and called him to a great task of rescuing Israel.  That sounded great…except that a rescue means the people holding the captives don’t want to let them go.  It may even mean the captives like captivity more than they should.  So before I get too excited about doing something great for God, I always consider the opinions of others first.  Maybe I should take a vote or do a survey just to be sure God is really calling me.  Opposition from others may reveal this “great work” is really not from God after all.

I might fail.

Moses was a successful shepherd in Midian.  He had the trust of his family and his peers.  But the prospect of convincing Pharaoh to allow him take the entire nation of Israel on a wilderness adventure didn’t seem very promising.  So before I leave my successful job or lifestyle to pursue the will of God, I make sure God has promised success.  God is a winner, so failure is not an option.  Besides, if I fail I make God look bad and I look like a real fool…and my reputation in the community is important to my witness.  So I never attempt anything that could possibly fail.  When God is in it, success is a sure thing.

I’ve used all of these excuses and more.  Please share  your own by clicking on the “Comment” button below.