The Bible says, ‘When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come…down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us…gods who can lead us”’ (Exodus 32:1 NLT). Why did Israel make a golden calf? Because they wanted a god you can see. It’s harder to relate to an invisible God, and Moses, His representative, stayed on Mount Sinai so long they felt helpless and abandoned. So they did what we do when we’re scared – resort to the comfort of the familiar. Mark D. Roberts writes: ‘How often do we find ourselves in a situation like the Israelites? We hear God’s call to something new, and boldly step out in faith. But when we don’t sense His presence and our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling, we feel abandoned, scared, and helpless. We grasp for the familiar.’ The Bible says, ‘The LORD is good…He cares for those who trust in him.’ Nancy Ortberg says: ‘The difficult parts of change are most often where God lives…All the things I glibly say, in change I have to live out…Most of us go kicking and screaming instead of moving into it with an assuredness that not only is God on the other side, but new facets of Him that we haven’t heretofore understood are also there. Whether it’s the death of a loved one, a job loss, a move across the country, becoming an empty nester – if we allow ourselves to push through the difficult parts we’ll discover God is there…and He’s entirely, wonderfully, amazingly, good.’ When God closes one door, He opens another – but you must be willing to walk through it.
1 Chron 16-18, Acts 17:1-15
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