Amy Walker looks at inspirational women in the Bible who didn't make excuses, but fulfilled the call of God in their generation.

Amy Walker

Hearing other people's personal experiences and journey can help encourage us in our walk. Knowing others have overcome in life helps us to face the challenges in front of us.

I'd like to share with you something Amy Walker spoke about. I interviewed her on Fusion, my Cross Rhythms radio show. Fusion encourages young girls to rise up and discover who they were made to be.

Amy is the Senior Pastor at Connect Church in Paisley, which is part of the CGI Network of churches. Previous to this she was in full time youth work and ran a charity called Pulse Children's and Youth Ministries. When Amy came on Fusion she spoke about the need for trust in God and for us to stop making excuses as to why we can't serve Him.

Amy shared, "Today it is very easy for us to make excuses. On the internet you can search for all sorts of really funny and amusing excuses about being late for work or school, for example, 'I saw a sign that read 'School Ahead', so I went slow and that's why I'm late Miss.' And also, 'My alarm clock kept going off while I was asleep.' There are excuses for everything in this day and age.

I was reading one of my favourite parts of scripture in Hebrews 12:1 and it says, 'Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witnesses let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.' The truth is that we are surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses and they didn't make up excuses; they just got on with it and served God in really amazing and incredible ways.

I was thinking about the season of advent and about that amazing woman Mary and how she could have given so many excuses not to do what God required her to do, but she didn't. She took on the call of God despite her many reasons as to why she shouldn't; she just pushed through. She was an incredible example to us that despite age, or circumstances, she could do what God called her to do. And, in fact, she's one of many influential women in the Bible that didn't think of excuses, or things that would stop them from doing the things that God had for them.

We think about people like Rahab who was a prostitute, or Sarah who was a doubter; we think about people like Julia who was the leader of the faith and was imprisoned and we think about Mary who was a teenager. Don't let anything excuse you from the things God asks you to do. Don't let any excuse of your circumstances stop you from doing what God has called you to.

Mary's story is full of God's favour and blessing and your life is full of God's story and your life is full of God's blessing and all you have to do is trust in Him.

There's no good enough excuse that you or I could come up with to stop us from serving the Lord. He goes before us and He hems us in from behind, that's what His word says.

Coming back to that scripture that we started with, '...since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witnesses let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.' And the truth is that there's a race marked out for you!

God never said it would be easy. God never said you wouldn't be tempted to make an excuse. God never said that along the way there wouldn't be things that would try to trap and entangle us, but there is a great crowd of witnesses cheering us on; people like Mary, Rahab, Eunice, Naomi and many others that are founders of the faith.

We are fortunate that they didn't make an excuse. Could we make an excuse today? Or could we just boldly trust God for our lives that He would do great things in and through us?"