Exodus 32:1 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.”
I struggle with laying my worries at Jesus’s feet and leaving them there. I put them down easily enough, but I usually only step away for a beat or two before I pick them back up. If I want to give myself the benefit of the doubt, I would probably say that I felt like I need to *do* as well as *be,* so I pick them up because I don’t want Jesus to perceive me as a slacker. I’m not sure the truth is that kind, though.
Exodus 32:2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.”
I see myself in the Israelites’ behavior today. Laying my troubles at Jesus’s feet is like the Israelites waiting while Moses goes up the mountain. Me taking those troubles up again is like the Israelites asking Aaron to make them an idol because, essentially, Moses is taking too long. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt 26:41).
Exodus 32:3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.
Lord, Forgive me for my impatience and self-reliance. Forgive me for my fear and doubt. I do trust You, Lord. Help me to trust You more, to lay my worries at Your feet and leave them there. Period. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Amen.
Exodus 32:4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
Have a blessed day.