We don’t do ourselves any favors when we make excuses. If telling the truth sets us free, (John 8:32) then making excuses keeps us stuck … or sick. I made a LOT of excuses this summer. I’ll remember this as the summer I had mono.
Why I made excuses
To be fair with myself (this IS my blog, after all 😉 ), I made a lot of excuses because I was hopeful. I hoped I just needed to go to bed earlier, eat more protein, drink more water, or pray about things I worried about. I hoped my excuses were true and things would change and I would feel normal … but my excuses kept me from finding out what would really help: the TRUTH.
We can’t deal with our sicknesses until we face the truth.
Excuses prolong help
Until I faced the facts, I wasn’t taking the action I really needed: REST. All those times I made excuses to myself, to Jeff, or to well-meaning friends (You know, all of you who said, “You look so tired. Are you okay?”), I prolonged finding out the truth and getting well.
You might use “trapped, imprisoned, captive or paralyzed” to describe the affect of living in a steam of excuses. Maybe you make excuses about sicknesses in your relationships, your home, your thought life, or your worship. Whatever our word choice, when excuses take the place of truth, it’s unhealthy. Why?
Excuses indicate fear
- We live in fear of finding our own excuses aren’t true.
- We live in fear of being found out.
So this was my summer of mono. That’s why I look tired and walk slow. That’s why our trash can has more pizza boxes than it should. That’s why my flower pots dried up … and I didn’t care. And now that I know the truth, I’m telling myself (and others) the truth and getting the rest I need, so I can leave mono behind with the dried up flower pots and embrace the new season. Until we accept the truth and get a plan to deal with the accurate reason behind our weaknesses, peace is out of reach.
Good news for our mono
So is it just me, or do you make excuses too? Are you living by telling yourself and others (those well meaning friends) a stream of excuses instead of facing your fears and finding out the truth about your illnesses? For me, it was as simple as getting a blood test, but sometimes it takes a lot more work to mine the truth. Finding peace begins with finding the truth.
We need not fear finding out the truth about the sicknesses in our lives. After all, God provides undeserved kindness for us in our weakness. He can use our sicknesses, physical or relational or emotional or spiritual, to display and perfect His power in us. Instead of hiding our heartaches or hang ups with excuses, we can actually expose them ourselves and let Christ’s power heal us and help us to find freedom.
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
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