Wait!

I would prefer to show the golden calf at the base of Mount Sinai, but Moses destroyed it. The picture above is the charging bull statue on Wall Street in Man Hattan, New York.

Moses rescued the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt by saying to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord says: Let my people go so that they may worship me” (Exodus 8:1). The Pharaoh didn’t know the Lord or care what He said. The Israelites had been in Egypt more than 400 years (ten generations) and had not been able to worship the Lord all those years. When Moses went up on the mountain to talk with God, the people grew tired of waiting. After forty days and nights, they asked Aaron to make gods. Maybe they were gods they could relate to, gods they had seen in Egypt. He collected all their gold and crafted a golden calf. Israel worshiped the calf and performed things detestable to God. God had written the Ten Commandments on stone tablets, and He said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt” (Exodus 32:7). Moses went down Mount Sinai. He saw the calf and the dancing. Anger rose in him and he threw down the tablets God had written on. The Golden Calf shows how impatience can lead to idolatry. We may think that we don’t worship golden images, but have we grown impatient and chosen our ways of self gratification over waiting for the Lord? I can testify that playing god is exhausting, and it led me down a path of destruction.

Three Benefits of Waiting

• Waiting focuses our attention. “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning” (Psalm 130:5-6). Watchmen watch diligently from the tower to be able to see any enemies coming near their city in an attack. They are focused all the more as daylight approaches.
• Waiting develops character. “We glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character hope” (Romans 5:3-4). This is a Scripture I need to write on my heart, because I don’t suffer well. I want to get through the waiting to the hope – quickly.
• Waiting causes surrender. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). God cares more about who I am becoming than where I am going. I am amazed how gentle and patient He is with my impatience and frustration. I am also amazed when I consider how my life has changed the more I have surrendered to God.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for grace, patience and gentleness to lead me along your paths. Thank you for the peace and hope I discover in the surrender. In Jesus’ name, Amen.