Hello, friends.   

I’ll begin this blog post with a declaration I shared in the last episode of our podcast: 

2024 is your year to shift from excuses into execution. 

In other words, you have yet another opportunity to partner with God to do something profound.  He’s releasing grace to help you step into something you haven’t done before or yet.  He wants to create something great in, through, and with you. 

Now, let’s be clear.  Partnership with God isn’t a light task.  It comes with expectations, and excuses aren’t part of them.  In summary, God’s expectation is that we execute our end of the partnership. 

Once again, I have a passage from the Bible to share to make this especially clear: 

At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like this. Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip. The servant who had received five thousand coins went at once and invested his money and earned another five thousand. In the same way the servant who had received two thousand coins earned another two thousand. But the servant who had received one thousand coins went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The servant who had received five thousand coins came in and handed over the other five thousand. ‘You gave me five thousand coins, sir,’ he said. ‘Look! Here are another five thousand that I have earned.’ ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master. ‘You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!’ Then the servant who had been given two thousand coins came in and said, ‘You gave me two thousand coins, sir. Look! Here are another two thousand that I have earned.’ ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master. ‘You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!’ Then the servant who had received one thousand coins came in and said, ‘Sir, I know you are a hard man; you reap harvests where you did not plant, and you gather crops where you did not scatter seed. I was afraid, so I went off and hid your money in the ground. Look! Here is what belongs to you.’ ‘You bad and lazy servant!’ his master said. ‘You knew, did you, that I reap harvests where I did not plant, and gather crops where I did not scatter seed? Well, then, you should have deposited my money in the bank, and I would have received it all back with interest when I returned. Now, take the money away from him and give it to the one who has ten thousand coins (Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭14‬-‭28‬,  ‭GNT‬‬).  

This passage is longer than I normally include in a blog post, but the narrative was too good to leave anything out.  Did you notice what happened?  I’ll paraphrase quickly.  A man gave three men an opportunity.  Two of them executed, and one had excuses.  Needless to say, the one with excuses received a reprimand and the two who executed were rewarded.  I can’t make it any plainer than this: partnership has responsibilities. 

Now, let’s unpack the pattern contained in the verses that will help us shift from excuses into execution: 

1. Provision.  Each person received provision commensurate with their abilities – five thousand, two thousand, and one thousand coins to be precise.  The key, however, isn’t the amount received.  It’s the accountability that came with it.  The provision wasn’t given haphazardly.  It was provided with an awareness of what was required for each person to operate in excellence. 

2. Productivity. This was the line of demarcation or where the rubber met the road.  The impact each person had was based their productivity.  Each had a responsibility to execute with the means received.  In other words, they were supposed to make the most of the resources given to them by the man who owned the property. 

3. Payoff.  At the end, each person received a reward.  They didn’t receive generalized certificates, thanking them for being there.  Their rewards corresponding to their level of productivity.  The two who made impact with the resources provided received an amazing payoff.  The one who had excuses received an awful punishment. 

Now, let’s make this practical.  Here’s how you can employ this pattern to ensure you’re on the right side of God’s reward system: 

1. Provision: What resources has God given you from His bounty?  What specific assignment is connected to the resources? 

2. Productivity: How have you executed the assignment with the resources God gave you?  What evidence can you show to verify that you have been productive? 

3. Payoff: Based on your efforts, what rewards can you anticipate?  Payoff?  Punishment? 

My friend, let this blog post usher you in the right direction.  If you have stalled your efforts with excuses, drop them and shift into execution.  God wants to be glorified through the resources and responsibilities He has given you! 

If you need assistance shifting from excuses to execution, then I’d love to talk further with you.  Reach out to me at info@induranceministries.com, and let’s develop a plan to help you be a responsible contributor to the partnership God has offered you.