Ordinary and Extraordinary

I was preaching about Moses and the burning bush this weekend and had an "aha" moment that I wanted to share with you. Most of you who read this are familiar enough with the story that I don't have to go over the whole thing with you, but I want you to think about something. From the moment that God started talking to Moses all He did was make promises and declarations. "I have, I AM, I will.. Etc, etc.." From the time that Moses started talking to God, all he did was make excuses. He kept telling God all the reasons why he couldn't do what God was asking him to do. I started thinking about this and then the realization of what I was pondering hit me...
"Our excuses keep us ordinary."

A recurring theme in the bible appears when God invites people to participate with Him in something significant and supernatural and they give him a list of excuses as to why they can't follow through. Gideon was too small, Jeremiah was too young, Moses couldn't talk and the list goes on and on... It was only after they came to the end of their excuses that they were able to participate in the divine adventure that God had for them.

And so I concluded that "my excuses keep me ordinary". If God is calling me to do and be something bigger than what I am, it must only be because He SEES that I can do it and that He's already made provision for me to see it happen in and through my own life.

If my excuses keep me ordinary, it must also stand to reason that saying "yes" to what God has for me moves me into the realm of the extraordinary. There is an "excellent adventure" to which God invites us to participate in on a daily basis and the way to get there is to quit making excuses, get past our fear, doubt or whatever and move towards the greatness of what He has for us.