No Excuses by Joyce Meyer

And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, you mighty man of [fearless] courage.
—Judges 6:12

In the book of Judges, God decided to work through a man named Gideon to deliver the Israelites from captivity. But when the angel came to call Gideon, Gideon began rehearsing a list of his inabilities, including reasons why he thought he could not do what God was calling him to do.

In Judges 6:14 God says, Have I not sent you? In other words, “Would I ask you to do something I haven’t equipped you to do?” And again, in the next verse, Gideon responds with excuses—I’m too poor, too small, too weak. Because words have power, Gideon believed what he said about himself more than the encouraging words of the Lord.

Stop thinking of excuses or things to complain about—It’s too hard; I’ve never done this before; this isn’t what I had planned; I don’t know how; I’m too old/young; I don’t feel like it; I’m afraid—and start doing what God is telling you to do.

Power Thought: I can do whatever God asks me to do— no excuses—because He is with me.