Africa is a land of opportunities, but many Africans have not seized the various opportunities that are available daily to improve their lives because of their constant excuses. Life is like a flowing stream, and the first to arrive is served. “Life is first come, first served.” May you never be late to your destiny.

Excuse is the first ingredient that those who fail unconsciously use to dig their own graves. A person or a people who remain in the realm of excuses will never see the good that comes because the forces of excuse have rendered them insensitive to the next movement.

The worst thing that can happen to a person is to be in the midst of events and nothing happens within him, for him, and by him. This simply means that the individual exists but no longer lives. Life without the necessary means to live it and enjoy it is useless. Africans are champions in the blame game. This can be attributed to the lack of a sense of responsibility or taking charge of one’s destiny and future. I call this “Poor Future Mentality” (PFM).

An excuse is a pretext given to defend a fault committed or a reason for not fulfilling an obligation. An excuse is an attempt to mitigate the blame related to a fault or offense. Excuses are an attempt to seek defense or justification even when one knows they are wrong. In reality, an excuse is a way of refusing responsibility for one’s condition or difficult situation.

No one is responsible for what you are going through because everything you are going through is your own experience for your next level. Joseph could have blamed his brothers for his 13 years of suffering in Egypt, but he saw them as an experience and said to them in Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.“

Those who make excuses for their failure or lack of progress in life lack a sense of responsibility and action. You must be proactive in life instead of waiting for things to happen by themselves. Even if they don’t happen that way. Giving excuses is a form of blame game that consists of refusing to face the reality of life by attributing the responsibility for your failure and inability to someone else.

Excuse is the inability to take quick action when one is supposed to act. An action is better than ten thousand intentions. We have tangible examples of excuses such as: excuses related to a poor family background, lack of resources, lack of basic education, lack of connections or contacts, position, etc.

Excuse plus excuse equals suicide. Excuse is the first ingredient that a lazy person uses to build the foundation of their failure. The best years of your life are those during which you decide that your problems are yours. You do not blame your mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, environment, or the president of your country.

“You realize that you control your destiny.” Albert Ellis, American psychologist and writer.

“Lord, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed” Matthew 25:24.

One of the most common excuses for people never fulfilling their destinies in life is that they blame everyone except themselves. Among those to whom blame is attributed are: God, their partners, parents, and even their pastors. Read these Scriptures: John 1:12; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2 Corinthians 4:7; Philemon 1:6.

The power of God resides in you, and power is the ability to bring about lasting change. Listen, God is not looking for your ability but your availability. The place where you live should not be a limitation but should serve as an exposure. An introverted life brings limitation, but an extroverted life brings exposure. Difficult times are times of progress if you know who you are, for those who know their God shall do great exploits (Daniel 11:32).

Read Genesis 26, and you will see that Isaac sowed in a barren land and prospered to the point of achieving three-dimensional prosperity. There is always an allocation for each locality. Therefore, the problem is not in your locality but rather in what you do in your locality.

Stop making excuses because excuse is the product of a defeated spirit. It is not what happens to you that matters, but your reaction to what happens in your life. The Word of God has a firm answer to all life’s questions, if only we can allow it to bring the solution that is already in it (Genesis 1:11-12).

The Word of God is a seed and an incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23), which has the power to reproduce its kind at any time, anywhere, and all the time. The book of 2 Kings 7:1-4 says, “Why sit here and die?” The lepers sat and asked themselves a tough question: “Why sit here and die?”

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” Ecclesiastes 9:10.

God must find your hands on something positive for Him to bless you. God does not bless an empty hand. If you come to church with empty hands, you will leave with empty hands, which is why God says in His word that no one should come to His house with empty hands…

This text is an excerpt from the book “ The 12 Giants and the Killer Spirits in Africa ” written by Victor Charles OKAFOR.

We invite you to read the following article “WHAT IS LAZINESS?”.