Pastor Al Paulauski, From Your Pal Al, Fair Haven Assembly of God Church

Pastor Al Paulauski

From Your Pal April 2005

"Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt." Exodus 3:10-11

     Have you ever felt this way before? Have you ever faced a challenge and said to yourself, "There is NO WAY that I'm going to make it?" Then you find yourself making excuses as to why you can't do it. I know I have.
     I love Moses! However, if Moses had a downfall it was the excuses that he came up with. "Who am I?" "What if they don't listen?" "I've never been a good speaker." He had all kinds of excuses as to why he couldn't accomplish the challenge that was in front of him.
     There is a similar story in Numbers chapter 13 about the children of Israel. The spies had come back to give their report to the nation of Israel on the Promised Land. Ten of the twelve spies gave the report that showed the land truly was great but also that they couldn't possibly take possession of it. "The people are too big and the land swallows up its inhabitants." They, like Moses, gave many excuses as to why they couldn't possibly take the land.
     As I read these two stories, I notice that Moses and the children of Israel had one thing in common. Instead of focusing on God to help them with their challenges they focused on themselves. All they ever saw was the natural, never once the supernatural.
     That's the same challenge that many of us face. We take a look at the challenges, setbacks, and struggles we face and we give excuses as to why things can't get any better. We do this because we fail to see God in our situations. We take him out of the equation.
     There are three reasons why it's bad to take God out of the equation. First of all, because I'll point out all the problems. We have a tendency to look for all the things that can go wrong and dwell on them. Second, because I'll overestimate the obstacles. By doing so we'll be defeated before we even get started. Finally, because I'll delay the desired result. By doing things our own way or in our own strength our problems always last longer than what they were supposed to.
     So my challenge for you would be to find God in every challenge of life that you face. He's there. His desire is not for you to handle all of your problems by yourself. He wants to be a part of the equation. Will you give up control and give it over to him?

In Christ,
Pastor Al