Waiting on God

During my Bible reading this morning, I read through the account of the making of the golden calf in Exodus 32. I was once more reminded of how easy it is to take matters into our own hands, especially when it seems like God somehow got busy with other things and forgot all about us.

We're impatient people. We don't like to be kept waiting.

Even Abraham, the father of our faith, grew tired of waiting on God to keep His promise. He and his wife Sarah took matters in their own hands to produce an heir. The result of their impatience was costly: bitter strife in Abraham's household for years to come.

When we think about how God miraculously delivered the children of Israel from a life of slavery to a life of being His covenant people, we have a hard time understanding their idolatry in building the golden calf. But when we take a step backward to gain a little more perspective, we see the same tendency in ourselves.

God has miraculously delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and did so at the great cost of the crucifixion of His Only Son on our behalf. We've been set free by the only One who can make us free, yet at the first hint that He wants us to wait, we commit idolatry.

How do we commit idolatry? Do we melt all our jewelry down to fashion a golden calf?

No. We put ourselves in God's place by taking matters in our own hands and moving ahead without Him.

So how can we improve upon our tendency toward impatience and the resulting idolatry?

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! ~Psalm 27:14

1. Be strong. Don't give in to the temptation to get ahead of God.
2. Let your heart take courage. Use the waiting time productively, by strengthening yourselves in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6).
3. Wait. Do the thing God wants you to do by waiting for Him. Patience comes only in the wait.

Lord God, forgive my tendency to rush ahead of You and put myself in Your rightful place as my glorious Emancipator. Grant me spiritual strength, a courageous heart, and the patience to wait on You. In Jesus' name, Amen.