Who Am I?

No More Delay: What Are You Waiting For? | Day 2

"Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" Matthew 9:37-38, NIV

Good morning. Most of us carry one sentence close at hand, the one that starts with I would, but. We do not use it to reject God. We use it to postpone him a little longer. This morning we take a clear look at that sentence, and at what God has already done about it.

The Excuses We Recognize

The harvest has never been the problem. Jesus did not say there were too few people who needed the gospel, or too little opportunity or need. Matthew tells us what moved him first. "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36, NIV). Then he named the actual shortage to his disciples. "Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" (Matthew 9:37-38, NIV). That was true two thousand years ago, and it is true this morning.

Most of us would never tell Jesus no outright. We love him, we trust him as our Savior, and we want others to know him too. Yet between that desire and any action, the excuses settle in. We would, but we are not qualified. We would, but we do not know enough, or someone else could do it better. We do not reject the call. We simply postpone it.

That struggle is not new. When God called Moses to stand before Pharaoh, Moses was not defiant. He was overwhelmed by his own shortcomings. "But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?'" (Exodus 3:11, NIV). Moses saw weakness and inadequacy. God saw someone through whom he would display his power. We make the same mistake. We know our sins, our past, and our fears, and wonder why anyone would listen to someone like us. Instead of looking to the One who sends us, we keep looking at ourselves.

Others answered differently and landed in the same place. Jesus invited two men to follow him, and neither refused him outright. "He said to another man, 'Follow me.' But he replied, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.' Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Still another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.' Jesus replied, 'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'" (Luke 9:59-62, NIV). Jesus was not asking either man to abandon his family. He was refusing to let a family matter, however sincere, become the reason the kingdom waited indefinitely. Their trouble was not hatred or unbelief. It was one small word. First. Something else had quietly become more important than following him right away, and that word still finds its way into our own conversations. First let me get more settled. First let me feel more ready. Those reasons sound responsible, and they become comfortable places to hide while the harvest stands waiting. That is the same word tucked inside our own I would, but.

The Answer Was Never Us

God has never left his people trapped inside their excuses. When Moses insisted he was not a gifted speaker, God did not tell him to become more polished. "Moses said to the LORD, 'Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.' The LORD said to him, 'Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'" (Exodus 4:10-12, NIV). Moses focused on his own inability. God pointed him back to the One who made his mouth, and promised to supply the words himself. That promise is still ours. When we feel unqualified to speak, the answer was never to manufacture more confidence on our own. The answer is to pray, plainly and specifically, and ask the Lord who made every mouth to fill ours with what needs saying.

We often assume sharing our faith requires eloquence or a theological degree, as though only pastors or missionaries are equipped for it. But the Lord delights in working through ordinary believers. The gospel carries God's own power. The Spirit works through his Word, not our polish. He does not ask us to manufacture faith in someone else's heart. He calls us to speak the message of Christ faithfully and trust him with what follows.

Even the apostle Paul struggled with something he wanted removed from his life, and pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away. "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV). The weakness stayed. The excuse disappeared. What Paul considered a disqualification became the very place Christ's strength shone brightest. Whatever we believe disqualifies us may be exactly what God uses to point people toward him.

The real problem is not simply that we have made excuses. It is that we have placed our schedules, our comfort, or our fears ahead of Christ's call, and that is sin worth naming plainly. But this devotion does not end there, because the gospel never does. Jesus never delayed his mission, and he never once answered the Father with I would, but. He walked the road to the cross willingly, for hesitant disciples, fearful witnesses, and sinners who found reason after reason to wait. He carried every excuse and every misplaced priority to that cross, then rose from it, declaring forgiveness for all who trust him. Because of Jesus Christ, we do not serve God to earn his favor. We serve him because his favor was already given, through grace alone.

The message was never ours to perfect. It belongs to Jesus Christ, and the results belong to the Holy Spirit. Our calling is simple: to be faithful with whatever opportunity is in front of us today. Someone nearby needs the hope we already carry in Christ. We may not have a sermon ready or an answer to every question, but we know the Savior who died and rose for sinners. So today, instead of reaching for the sentence that begins I would, but, we can reach for a shorter one. Lord, give me the words. Then we can trust him enough to speak them to the one person already on our hearts.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, forgive me for the many times I have delayed sharing your gospel because of fear, doubt, or distraction. Thank you for sending Jesus to forgive every one of my sins and to make me your own through his life, death, and resurrection.

Fill me with your Holy Spirit, give me the words to speak, and help me trust that your strength is made perfect in my weakness. Open my eyes to the people you have placed before me today, and give me the courage to share the hope found in Christ alone. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

That sentence will surface again before today is over, the one that starts with I would, but. When it does, we can stop after the first three words and pray instead, right there, for the words and for the courage. Then we can say something, however small, to the person already on our mind. Tomorrow we look at the numbers in that field, and at why the arithmetic should move us to act rather than talk ourselves out of it one more day.

To God be the glory.

Pray, praise, and give thanks, for God is good and His mercy endures forever.

If you received this message and are not on the daily distribution for them via text or know someone you would like to share these messages with, just have them text "add" to 833-779-8793.