Moses backpedaled with excuses when God told him that He would send him to speak to the ruler over Egypt. Exodus 3:18 clearly said, “Then they will heed your voice…” Moses imagined how things might go. Notice his rebuttal to God’s word to him. Verse 1 says, “…But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, The Lord has not appeared to you.”

God did not answer his ‘supposed’ imaginations. Instead He asked him what was in his hand. God wanted to demonstrate to Moses how He would reveal His power through something natural. He turned Moses’ shepherd’s rod into a snake. Then He had him put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out it was leprous. He had him put his hand back into his bosom. When he pulled it out the leprosy was gone. He gave him one more affirmation of how He would use Moses.

Verse 9 says, “And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice…” Twice the Lord spoke of Moses’ voice. Verse 10 was more backpedaling. He explained his view of himself to the Lord. He said, “…I am not eloquent…but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Let me jump to what Stephen said about Moses. Acts 7:22 says, “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.”

How many times have you presented excuses to the Lord when He called you to do something? Here is the definition I use for an excuse. It is a skin of reason wrapped around a lie. I present to you that it is a lie that you have believed about yourself, that can be refuted through God’s word. Why do I say this? I know from my own experiences, and experiences of those I have counseled. When we believe a lie it controls our lives.

The philosophy of a hypothesis is: a proposition made as a basis for reasoning, without any assumption of its truth. Moses used hypothetical scenes. They were not based on truth, but on his assumptions. Ferreting out lies is not our job. They are usually hidden very deep. They are holed up in the dark dungeon of our heart. The Holy Spirit will expose them, and help us acknowledge them for what they are WHEN He knows that we are ready to face them.

I encourage you to write down what is in your hand. It may be areas where you are naturally gifted. It may be a special interest, or something that you are trained in. It may be a desire that the Lord placed in your heart. Present your list to the Lord. Ask Him: what is in my hand that you want to use in a supernatural way? When He tells you, don’t offer excuses based on your past performances. He is ready to do a new thing. 

Isaiah 43:19 Amplified says, “Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive it and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” It is time to get free of our mind entanglements based on lies that we have believed about ourselves!