“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Exodus 32:1 (NIV)
Sometimes we get tired of waiting for God. We think, “Surely He’s busy doing something else, working on world peace, or solving the world hunger issue. He doesn’t have time to be worrying about little ol’ me.” We start to place other things in God’s spot in our lives, believing that if God is too busy for us, we should try to fix our problems ourselves. At that point, we are just as guilty as the Israelites for putting idols in our lives. We may not have handed over our earrings to melt down and form into a physical golden calf, but within our hearts we’ve erected our own “sacred cow.”
We may think about going to the spiritual leadership God has given us, or we may even turn to God’s presence briefly; however, when we don’t receive the response we want in the time frame we want it, then we respond just as the Israelites did: we decide that God’s response isn’t worth waiting for.
…we may push back a little against such a firm condemnation of our actions; but stop and think for a moment: the last time you didn’t wait on God, why didn’t you wait? Was your reason for not waiting legitimate, or was it a cover-up for your own impatience and frustration – or even eagerness to move forward in the direction you sensed God leading you?
Even in our eagerness, we can mis-step. Think about Abraham and Sarai, so confident that they had figured out the way that God would work to bring about the promise. Their eagerness and impatience resulted in heartache, jealousy, and a broken family. Frustration can cause problems when we are waiting, too. Imagine Moses’ frustration when he returns from his time with God. He’s just had this literal mountaintop experience with God. The word pictures God has painted for Moses, the result of being in the Presence of God for an extended period of time – Moses has caught the vision of what God wants to do. Then he returns to find that the people have taken their eyes off the mountain, and turned to their own evil ways. No wonder he throws the tablets down in frustration!
In life, we often experience moments of frustration, or mis-steps because of eagerness that steps ahead of God’s plan. When we are in leadership, we sometimes feel this way with the people we are discipling or leading. We can see the long term vision, but they haven’t caught
it yet, or they are so excited about it, they can’t see the path from A to B. All they can see is the difficulty staring them in the face or the goal hovering ahead of them. How much easier is it to go back to old habits than it is to build new ones? How much easier is it to jump ahead of the thousand tiny steps it takes to get to the goal by taking a giant leap forward? Surely the giant leap is better than the tiny steps, right?
If only the Israelites had kept their eyes on the mountain – to watch like God had asked them to as He spoke to their leader. Instead, they became afraid – afraid of what would happen to them, what they would have to give up to be that close to God. They were more concerned with their present troubles than they were with experiencing God’s Presence. They had seen God’s Presence on the mountaintop when Moses went up, and had determined that it was too much for them to handle. They figured Moses was already dead, because who could survive a God like that? (Ex. 32:1)
If only Abraham and Sarai had trusted God’s timing – waiting for the promise to come in God’s way, with God’s direction, instead of taking matters into their own hands. Instead, they thought they knew what God wanted to do. They were taking action when God had asked them to wait. God had given them a promise, they were trying to help God along in the fulfillment of that promise. They had already waited a long time for the promise – surely God didn’t want them to continue waiting? (Gen. 16:1-10; 21:8-13)
We do the same things. We see how God is moving in mighty and powerful ways in the lives of those around us, and we are content to watch for a short period of time … and then we begin to get uncomfortable, because we realize the danger that level of commitment requires. So we turn away, instead of drawing close. We are scared to give up what God has called us to give up. We are scared of losing the things we grasp so closely, not realizing if we will just open our hands in offering to Him, His response will be to fill our hands with the things He has for us.We are hesitant to trust with open hands, letting go of what is old and waiting for what is new.
Or perhaps we get so excited about how God has promised to bless us that we jump ahead of Him, running full force in a direction that we think He is pointing. We fill our time with plans and busyness, acting and reacting, but not doing the one thing God has asked us to do: wait and listen. We are hesitant to trust the waiting process, too eager to get into the action.
Why do we hesitate to trust? Why do we think that our plans are so much better than His? Why are we so afraid of the smoke on the mountain?
Perhaps because it’s the unknown that frightens us. Doesn’t that go all the way back to the beginning? The serpent tempting Eve with the unknown – “But you don’t know it all – and
you won’t until you eat from this tree. There’s more to know and understand, and if you just have some of this fruit, you’ll know everything – just like God does.” The unknown is so … uncertain.
The Israelites turned away from the unknown in order to embrace the “safety” of the known – even though that “known” involved pain and suffering. How different would their story have been if they had kept their eyes focused on the mountain? Or even if they had allowed Him to speak to them directly instead of sending Moses up to be their intermediary? (Ex. 20:18-21)
The author of Hebrews reminds us that we have a mediator who is even greater than Moses, and it is because of that mediator that we should respond differently than the Israelites did when faced with temptation to return to their old habits:
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
~ Hebrews 10:19-25, NIV
This passage gives us some excellent reminders of how we should respond when we are tempted to be like the Israelites in our “waiting” periods. They are core elements of discipleship, regular rhythms and habits we should develop with the help of the Holy Spirit and a believing community of faith:
– Draw near to God
– Hold unswervingly to the hope we profess
– Spur one another on toward love and good deeds
– Don’t give up meeting together
– Encourage one another
Notice that three out of the five of those involve community? We aren’t meant to do this faith thing alone. When you are in a “waiting zone” for life, surround yourself with faith-filled believers. Share your story, and stay in a posture of discipleship. Keep your eyes on the
mountain, and your hope fixed on Jesus, who will be faithful to complete the good work that he began in you. (Php 1:6)
For the bigger story of Moses and the Israelites, read Exodus 19:1-20:21; 24:1-18; 32:1-20 For the bigger story of Abraham and Sarai, read Genesis 12:1-7; 15:1-6; 16:1-10; 21:8-13
Questions to discuss:
What stands out to you in the passages you read today?
What observations can you make about the original audience and setting that you didn’t notice before?
What do these passages tell you about times of waiting?
How have you experienced times of waiting in your life?
What temptations do you face when God calls you to seasons of waiting? What spiritual practices have helped you to move faithfully through waiting seasons?
Who is a person that has encouraged you through a season of waiting? How did they encourage you?
Why do you think God takes us through seasons of waiting?
Prayer:
As you pray today, thank God for His faithfulness even when we are unfaithful. Ask Him to remind you that in the seasons of waiting, He is present, and that His purposes are for our good.