No Excuses

I am an excuse-maker. There, I said it. Easily at my worst, but I’ve noticed even at my best! The disease has caught my attention, as I’m sure in the days ahead God will begin to unveil the implications of why I’m prone to denial through excuse-making.

Where the rubber meets the road was during an afternoon run. In 88-degree, sun-scorching temps, I was making my way along a paved path in an effort to complete a 5-mile round trip. No lie, I thought I was dogging the entire journey, but I kept at it. On the return route, I passed by some people who yelled out ‘nice pace,’ and I panted back ‘this is as good as it gets in this weather’. Immediately my mind retracted that statement, and I thought, ‘God is sustaining me; THAT is the only way I’m still able to keep a pace’. I kept at it, and as I rounded out the run, I looked down to see my total run time was 48 minutes! How could that be? That IS a good pace considering the duration! And that’s when it dawned on me…

Sometimes what we see right in front of us is clouded by the exhaustion we feel to get there, but from an outsider’s perspective, we’re running at a good pace! And I think once we get to the ‘finish line’ of this race, we’ll look back and be astounded at the trek we’ve just completed. That wasn’t too bad after all!

So here’s what I’ve taken away after deeper reflection upon this troubling habit. Making excuses for ‘the bad’ is like making excuses for the devil, and I don’t want to waste my breath sticking up for the enemy’s work in me, nor give him the satisfaction of doing so. I truly welcome accountability and shining light on the darkness, exposing it so I can be free and uplifted in an effort to be a better version of myself. As for the good things that I still find necessary for excuse-making… God’s work in me is just where He has me, and I don’t need to make an excuse for what He’s doing with me. From my perspective, it may appear a bit grueling at times, but I must trust and believe that the great Sustainer has me right on pace!