He's In A Staff Meeting.

Waiting is hard.

We sometimes feel like it's taking God such a long time to step in on behalf of His people. And it is in these times where we can be tempted to make a decision (or a series of decisions) that run counter to the plan of God.

The people of ancient Israel had a few incidents where they were very impatient with God and decided to do their own thing. In one of those instances, they "told" Aaron to make them an idol. (Sort of makes me wonder what else had they been telling Aaron to do over the years, because it seems Aaron didn't put up much of a defense.)

(Just an aside here: if you see a congregant telling a leader to do something against the counsel of God, and the leader follows the congregant instead of following the counsel of God, pray earnestly for that leader. And that congregant.)

We see this in Exodus 32:

Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. (Exodus 32:1-6)

The Almighty Lord, God of all creation, protected His people from dying as slaves in Egypt. He protected them from the plagues and diseases that were sent upon the Egyptians. He caused the sea to part, and they walked through in safety. Every act of God was an expression of His love for His people.

Their response didn't seem loving at all. They traded God for a golden calf, and traded His servant Moses for "their" servant Aaron. An embrace of disobedience for the sake of expedience.

But, how long are we supposed to wait?

I don't know how long. But I notice that, in Scripture, impatience and idolatry work in tandem. Like King Saul, we offer unauthorized sacrifices because we can't wait another hour for the prophet Samuel.

There is another king, King David, whose psalms frequently tout the value of waiting. "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him." (Psalm 62:5) "Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed" (Psalm 25:3). "Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart." (Psalm 27:14)

Yes, waiting is hard sometimes. Wait anyway.
It's better to wait than to lose out on God's promise.