FEAR PRODUCES EXCUSES, FAITH PRODUCES ACTION

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“And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.'”

Exodus 14:13-14

The Israelites, God’s people, were slaves in Egypt for over 400 years. Exodus 8:11-14, you will read about the torment and torture they endured while they were enslaved because the new Pharaoh saw that the population of the Israelites was growing rapidly. He was afraid that if they grew any larger, they would rise up an army against him and defeat Egypt.

God chose Moses to rescue His people from Egypt. Ok, I’m going to stop there and help you to make this devotional personal. As you continue reading, I want to you envision the following characters as follows:

Moses = You. Replace “Moses” with your name.
Israel/Israelites = Your Family; Your Generation; Your Disciples
Egypt = the world or generational curses. Ex: drugs, alcohol, abuse, fear, pride, anger, religion, divorce, fornication, adultery, control, etc.

Let me continue…

When God chose Moses (your name) to rescue the Israelites from slavery, Moses didn’t jump up with excitement saying, “Yes, yes Lord, use me.” Not at all, you see Moses lived in Egypt (add your generational curse) and he got out, or so he thought he did. Although he escaped Egypt, the fear of what he experienced still haunted him till the present day.

Here’s my story: “When God chose Samantha to rescue her family from the curse of abuse, addiction and poverty, Samantha didn’t jump up with excitement saying, “Yes, yes Lord, use me.” Not at all, you see Samantha grew up in a household of drugs, alcohol, abuse, abandonment, etc., and she got out, or so she thought she did. Although she grew up and moved out, the fear of what she experienced, still haunted her till the present day.”

Instead of Moses instantly saying yes, he started making excuses:

1. “Who am I” (Exodus 3:11). EXCUSE #1 – Fear of “feeling inadequate, not good enough.” He could barely escape Egypt on his own; how could he possibly free the entire nation of Israel (your family/generation)?

2. “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13). EXCUSE #2 – Fear of “not saying the right thing.” I think we all felt at one point or still feel today, that we can’t be used by God because we don’t know the Scriptures well enough, or we don’t feel confident enough to pray. But what God says to Moses next is absolutely powerful. He says, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14).

3. “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Exodus 4:1). EXCUSE #3 – Fear of “what if they don’t take me seriously?”

4. “O Lord, I’m not very good with words” (Exodus 4:10 NLT). EXCUSE #4 – fear of “speaking in front of others.”

5. “Please, Lord, Send someone else,” Moses said (Exodus 4:13). Now this one was not an excuse. Every time Moses had an excuse, God showed His provision and promise. It wasn’t until Moses ran out of excuses that his heart was exposed. It wasn’t the fear of inadequacy, not knowing enough, the people’s beliefs, or even speaking in front of others…it actually wasn’t fear at all. It was his lack of stepping out in faith and trusting God.

Did you know the ONLY way you can conquer fear is by ACTIVELY stepping out in faith while you’re in the middle of your fear-battle? Fear isn’t conquered first and then you take a step of faith. NO, fear is conquered WHEN you take a step of faith.

Once Moses’ heart was exposed and he was confronted with his lack of faith and trust in God, he know he had to take action. If you read the transition in Exodus 4, after Moses ran out of excuses and God confronted his heart, the very next thing you read is that Moses, “returned to Egypt.” He CONQUERED fear by ACTIVATING HIS FAITH!!

Later in Exodus, while Moses was taking them through the Red Sea, the Israelites were afraid. They could see that the Egyptian army was approaching them and they started to cry in fear. Moses encouraged them: “And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace'” (Exodus 14:13-14).

While in the midst of fear, the Israelites kept crossing over. No one surrendered; no one turned back; they ALL kept moving forward, and they ALL made it to the other side.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Examine yourself. Do you feel hindered in living a life of activated faith? What excuses are you making that is holding you back? What is one step of faith that you can activate TODAY that will break the spirit of fear over your life? Please share this with your Life Group Leader, and let’s continue to drive the spirit of fear out of our lives once and for all! (Samantha DeCorte)

TODAY’S DECLARATION
“Today, I declare that I will stop making excuses and living in fear. I choose to start living my life in ACTIVATED FAITH!! I am FREE & FEARLESS”

TODAY’S BIBLE READING
Our Bible Reading Plan gives 25 daily readings per month. There is no scheduled reading for today. You can use this time to catch up on any readings you may have missed, or read through previous passages again.

FEAR PRODUCES EXCUSES, FAITH PRODUCES ACTION