“When the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for that man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.'” -Ex. 32:1

When God seemed far away from the Israelites in the desert, they grew impatient and rebellious. Instead of waiting with faith on their one true God, they turned to a man-made god that they could see and control on their own–a golden calf. They worshipped this idol instead of the God who gave them life and led them out of slavery, but who they couldn’t control. It’s easy for us today to scoff at the kind of idolatry the Israelites took part in. But don’t we do this in our own lives? We all have things we turn to instead of God when it feels that He is distant or not active enough. What is the “golden calf” that we trust and worship more than Our Lord? Is it our own ability and self-determination? Is it money, other material things, or other people? Let’s be courageous in giving God permission to crush all the golden calves in our lives, and humbly ask that He never cease drawing our hearts back to Himself–the only One worthy of our worship. +