The year is still very young yet it will amaze you to know that quite a lot of plans, dreams and aspirations are beginning to get watered down as a result of certain things we term as “justifiable excuses”. One thing I planned to do this year is to write more but the opposite has been the case. As a matter of fact, each time I decide to write, the distractions I am confronted with are so numerous that I find myself giving in to them. The wake-up call I got is the reason I decided to share this at this time. There is really no excuse as to why we should not get things done when we ought to.
Just like several other people, I have so many excuses as to why I should not do what I had planned and at the same time know I ought to do. The funny thing is humanly speaking, these excuses are justifiable. The question, however, is ” Are those excuses justifiable before the One who gave us our minds to plan big for a new year and a brand new beginning that could only have been made possible by grace”?
The dicey thing about life is that it is time-bound and whatever time a man loses can never be regained. You cannot get yesterday back, you can only make the necessary changes today! Some highly religious people might disagree with this reality but it does not change the fact that when time slips out of our hands, it cannot be recovered. This is one thing no one has power over, yet it affects every one of us in a way. This does not mean we cannot achieve at a later time what we ought to have done previously, it only means we will end up doing the same thing at a different time, which might make it not as effective as it could have been. Some people will say what matters most is that one eventually get things done! This is not always the case because the human nature has a way of sweeping duties under the carpet, considering that making excuses as to why we leave somethings undone may result in us not doing it when we eventually have no justifiable reason for not doing such things. If we will live above justifiable excuses, there is a need to constantly remind ourselves of the fact that there are several lives that can be affected directly or indirectly by us doing the right things at the right time or like one of my beloved instructors will say ” You have to constantly remind yourself that there are many lives and destinies at the end of your prompt obedience”.
This reminds me of an outreach I was privileged to be a part of and God gave a word of knowledge concerning a teenager that was present in that gathering and how she had made up her mind to commit suicide that same day. A beautiful young girl true to those words burst into tears as she admitted the word was for her. According to her, she was tired of life and had made up her mind to take her own life that same day due to her inability to stop the use of drugs despite all effort made by herself, her parents and loved ones just to ensure she quit abusing drugs and live a normal life. My joy was in knowing that some people took the time out to go to that city at the time she needed them most, not minding the inconveniences, the sacrifice of time and resources. I was also excited to know that if only that one soul was saved from the grip of a suicidal thought it was worth the time, effort and the sacrifice of anything that can be named or thought of.
As a result of an act of obedience to the instruction God gave and that was acted upon regarding going to that city at that time, a family was saved from having to deal with the loss of a child. Waiting one more day or week with the mind that what matters most is that we embark on the trip, not minding the exact period that would have been ideal, as long we do so and eventually get things done could have led to the loss of that one life that matters greatly to God.
As the young girl opened up to her parent about her concluded decision to take her life that day, I was moved to tears as I watched her parent weep when she told them her intention and how she had written a note to that effect explaining to them that her life was in such a mess that it was obvious there was no hope for her total restoration and she was not willing to put them through more pains as a result of her bad choices in life. To her, she was a mess and she was tired of trying to be a better person but to her parent, she was still that lovely and adorable child of theirs that was born as an innocent child.
One lesson this experience I had taught me is how important just one timely write-up, trip, act of love, giving, forgiveness, note, and action can be. Our inability to give what we call “justifiable excuses” a big fight is sometimes more costly than we can imagine. As much as we might have justifiable excuses regarding why we can leave undone some of the things we ought to get done, it is never good enough an excuse if the lives, destiny and plan of others can be greatly affected negatively by our own selfishness, laziness, fear, giving in to defeat, or insensitivity to the clear instructions God gives to us.
If we fail to do what we ought to do at the right time due to the fact that we give in to the realities of life that make it look like there is really nothing we can do to help ourselves achieve anything as a result of certain unexpected developments, it will be nice to consider at such times that several others had to deal with worse developments at some point in time of their lives, yet their understanding of a sacrificial and properly planned life that wholly trusts in God’s ability helped them to achieve what they ordinarily would not have been able to achieve. ( PHILIPPIANS 4:19)
As much as the realities of life( persecutions, delay, lack, natural disasters, failure, unpredicted challenges, etc) can distort the plans of a man, it is worthy of note that life itself does not give anyone the chance to become who they ought to be without a fight. Several fights have to be won in life before anyone can get to where he or she should get to and this can only happen if we learn to properly manage our time, Persist in the face of battles, and the develop our ability to be able to restrategize when things do not go as planned. There is no excuse for giving in to the challenges of life all in the name of “justifiable excuses“.
David had several justifiable reasons not to confront Goliath. He was just a young child, a civilian who was not trained for battle, his father sent him to deliver some food and not to fight, he left for the battlefield unprepared for any such thing as fighting a giant, his size was nothing near that of the children of Gath who were known for their unusual size and height, he had elder brothers on the same battlefield who had no plan to go near Goliath even though they were trained as soldiers. As much as every other person considered Goliath obviously untouchable and unstoppable, David considered all that they regarded as justifiable excuses as not good enough reasons to allow the Philistines to win and take over Isreal without a fight. He put aside every distraction and refused to delay in putting an end to the threat of the Philistines. ( 1 SAMUEL 17)
Jesus also had several justifiable excuses He could give in order not to die for all humanity but He put it all aside and did what was expected of Him even though it was not as convenient as quite a lot of us think, considering He is God( He came in the flesh and this means He felt every pain just as you and I can feel pain). One major justifiable excuse He could have given in order to avoid dying for the world is that He was not the one who committed the sins He had to die for, as a matter of fact, He had no sin at all yet He had to bear the pain and shame of the Cross for the sake of a people undeserving. Several times, He left the comfort of food, shelter, and sleep all because of His heart of love for the same people who would later demand that He be crucified. Looking beyond all these things, He kept His gaze on the purpose for which He came as a man and wasted no time in doing all that He had to do and He did all that He did at the right time. ( 1 PETER 2:22, MATTHEW 27:16-26, HEBREWS 12:2)
We have the ability to ensure that the things that are out to distract or hinder us from the fulfilment of our God-given plans, purpose and ideas do not succeed in stopping us from achieving what we were already destined to achieve and as a result bring blessings to other people and nations as well. Justifiable excuses remain as excuses that are capable of stopping us from making the best use of the time made available to us and until we are ready to turn them around as one of the tools we can use to experience the victory that Christ already gave us over all things and situations, they will remain one of the reasons we leave undone several amazing things we are capable of doing. .
1 CORINTHIANS 15:57
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Author Profile
- Temitope is the founder of thesoulmeal.com, an online platform that she shares with her God-given spiritual family and friends. She is a speaker, teacher and youth counselor. She is passionate about inspiring people to find their identity in Christ. Catch her interviewing inspiring leaders on Tongue of the Learned Podcast
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