Wait
6 min read
26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”
28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
— 1 Kings 12:26-28
Jeroboam’s thinking was guided by thirst for power and paranoia. God had placed him in a position of power, but suddenly he felt that he had to take measures to secure his power. Ironically, the measures that he took would lead to his downfall because he angered God by turning to idolatry.
When Jeroboam said, “Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt,” we are reminded that Moses’s brother Aaron pretty much did and said the exact same thing when the Israelites were waiting for Moses to come down from Mount Sinai after receiving the law. At that time, if not for Moses’s intercession, God was ready to destroy all of Israel or to remove His presence from Israel.
In this episode, we see the birth of idolatry. Idolatry is always born when we take the initiative to do what God was already doing according to our own insecurity or impatience or ambition instead of according to God’s word. Idolatry is born when we don’t learn how to be still and wait on God.
So how do I learn to be still and wait on God? Well, reading and understanding God’s word would be the first place to start. Praying for confirmation and guidance would be the first place to start. Anything beyond these things has a dangerous potential for leading to idolatry.
I need to actively be still and wait on God, especially when my heart becomes anxious because I am waiting for God to do something. I need to actively be still and wait on God instead of coming up with “concrete solutions” to resolve the anxiousness in my heart. Those “concrete solutions” are usually idols.
When God acts, it’s always very clear that God is on the move. When God acts, that is the time for me to respond in faith with the word of God to inform me and the Spirit of God to guide me.
How do I know when God is on the move? For those things that I am actively praying about, God arranges the circumstances for me to respond in a particular way.
Of course, being still and waiting on God is not easy. Sometimes, God may not act for years. We see this in Scripture, and we experience this in our own lives. But being still and waiting on God is always worth it. Every other course will lead to idolatry and tragedy.
Even so, God’s grace is such that He will accomplish His good will despite our insecurities, impatience, and ambition. Though, He would much prefer that we save ourselves the heartache and tragedy.
Father, Thank You for Your patience toward me and this community. Forgive us for being impatient. You have every single soul in mind, and You always wait for the least of these. We always want to move ahead for ourselves, and we hate waiting. You have acted by initiating house church ministry here in Canvas. Help us not to get ahead of ourselves, and especially not to get ahead of what You are doing. Teach us to be still and wait. In Jesus’s name. Amen.