Wednesday, May 7, 2025
When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!” Exodus 32:1
Here’s What I Can’t Do For You...
Jesus asks “What do you want me to do for you?” The only one powerful enough to ever fulfill whatever request we lay before him wants us to tell him everything we want. Why don’t we just ask? Instead of waiting on his good and perfect will for our lives and surrendering our desires we want a quick fix. We will be filled with something – and we get to choose who or what it will be.
Where do we turn if we don’t turn to God? Sometimes it is addictions, which can also become idols. When we have a hurt in our hearts that we cannot face or deal with we often choose a substance or an action that will numb us to that pain. When God is silent, we will go looking for an answer – any answer – anywhere. We may feel God is taking too long or has abandoned us. We may have turned to him, but we may not feel anything, except the pain we cannot stand for another minute.
The Children of Israel had been delivered from slavery in Egypt and were in the wilderness on a journey to the promised land God had set apart for them. They stopped so Moses could meet with God on the mountaintop to receive the ten commandments – new rules for this new nation. The people were restless waiting for him because he was gone 40 days. They decided they needed to make an idol to lead them out of the wilderness. They were impatient and were tired of waiting so they made an idol that they thought would take the lead on the journey. Sounds crazy right? They wanted a statue to lead them.
Idols draw us, promising us a fulfillment that they will never provide. Sometimes we go backwards when we are waiting on God, choosing to go back to an idol that gave us a moment of instant gratification instead of standing in our faith and trusting the God we know that keeps his promises.
If we will hang on to our faith in the silence and in the delay, that thread we are hanging on to will become the lifeline that brings us back to God. Because in the deafening silence, God is with us; in the delay, God is there. It is during those times that we decide if we will stand on our faith and cling to him and his promises or if we will choose something else to fill the void we have when we shut God out. When we don’t turn to God and instead turn to something else, we quickly realize we have made a mistake. The numbing gratification wears off quick.
Here is what Jesus will do for us – from the sermon this past Sunday – and what idols won’t.
Jesus acknowledges our need. – Idols do not care what you need. You may think you are getting a need fulfilled but you are only creating greater need. They never give, they only take.
Jesus asks us to respond by faith – Jesus asks us to trust him and surrender to him. We put our faith in idols, but Jesus is the only person truly worthy enough to trust. He is the only one who acknowledges our need and responds to our need.
Jesus responds by bringing salvation – We think we can find salvation in our idols or in binge watching or in drugs or in alcohol, etc. Jesus is the only one who can truly save us. He brings salvation which saves us for eternity. He is with us in every circumstance of life, carrying us through. He is always by our side. Sometimes he saves us right out of a situation and sometimes we need to sit in it as part of the transformation that God has for us.
Idols can never do for us what God says he will do. They may make us feel good, or numb, in the moment but they never acknowledge our needs, keep promises when we put our faith in them, and they never save us from anything. They only lead us into more destruction of our lives. They can never do for us what only Jesus can.
Who or what are you turning to today other than Jesus?
