The dictionary defines the word ‘excuse’ with “to make allowance for; overlook.”
These people in the Bible could have used these excuses for rejecting the Lord’s call:

Jacob was a liar;

Noah was drunk;

Elijah was suicidal;

Joseph was abused;

Naomi was a widow;

Abraham was too old;

Paul was too religious;

Rahab was a prostitute;

Zacchaeus was too small;

Jonah ran away from God;

Matthew was a tax collector;

Martha worried about everything;

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young;

Job went bankrupt and lost everything;

Moses, David and Paul were murderers;

Mary Magdalene was demon-possessed;

All the disciples fell asleep while praying;

Peter was destructive, impulsive and hot-tempered;

Do you have any excuse for not doing the Lord’s will in your life?

Lent is a season of special self-examination, of finding our excuses and confessing them. To confess is to come clean before the almighty Lord, to be accountable for what we have thought, said, or done that is contrary to the Word and will of God—no excuses, no blame-shifting, no halfhearted apologies.

The criminal on the cross next to Jesus admitted his guilt and made no excuses. He did not try to hide who he was from either himself or the Lord. He believed that Jesus was his Savior and was saved in an instant. In one moment, through the precious blood of Jesus poured out from his wounded side on the cross, the blackest heart can be turned white. To this most unworthy person in the world Jesus spoke the most wonderful words you can find in Scripture, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).