Exodus 32:1 When the people realized that Moses was taking forever in coming down off the mountain, they rallied around Aaron and said, “Do something. Make gods for us who will lead us. That Moses, the man who got us out of Egypt—who knows what’s happened to him?”

When you sit on the pavilion, you get a completely different perspective of the game than when you are playing in it yourself. It’s easy to point the finger at the people of God for going astray and building a golden calf.

Yet one must understand where they were coming from. Moses had been gone for 40 days, with no news. He was the link between them and God, and suddenly there was nothing. The Israelites knew they needed a God to continue their journey through the desert.

What they knew about gods, they had learnt in Egypt. The Egyptians made and worshipped golden images. That’s why they did the same. A God that they could see and worship.

We know what had happened on Sinai. We know that God was busy giving Moses the law. But the Israelites didn’t know that, and they started making their own plans. And their own plans plunged them deep into a big mess. There was no peace and no winners either.

Sometimes it is necessary for us to step off the field, go and sit on the pavilion, and look at our own lives from a distance. From up there, you can quickly see where things are being done that don’t fit in with the rest.

Often, something feels right to us just because that’s how we grew up. We’ve always done it that way, so why would it be wrong? But just because we’ve always done it that way doesn’t mean it’s right and good.

In an intimate relationship with God, we must regularly take a step back and examine our lives with a magnifying glass. We must look for the things that don’t fit into God’s picture for our lives. And then we must remove them. It may not be easy, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can do it. God will be so pleased about that.

Prayer
Father, please help me see the things that do not fit in Your picture of my life. Help me to stop doing them …

Questions
What “golden calf” has quietly crept into my life without me realising it?
Where am I trying to replace God with something I can control or see?
When was the last time I honestly examined and corrected my life before God?

Do this now
Take 10 minutes today, sit down like someone in the pavilion, and honestly look at your life.
Write down one thing that may have come between you and God and ask the Holy Spirit to help you let it go.
Take one concrete action today to put God first again, such as spending time with Him or giving up something that is stealing your attention.