He Knew, and Waited

There are times I get so wrapped up in my timing. I don't have a problem with being spontaneous for the most part, it's just that when I have a specific task I'm working on, I can get really frustrated when things detour me, slow me down, or simply make me stop what I'm doing and address another situation before I can continue. Granted, He's carried me a long way in many of those areas but at times it can still be a real struggle. Then I read about Moses:

So here he is, going up to get the tablets. We all know the story either in detail or the cliff notes version. However I never caught verse 24:16 before; at least it never spoke to me.

"The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud." Exodus 24:16 (ESV)

Did you catch the 6 days he had to wait? Moses was on a mission from God (one far more important than the Blues Brothers!). He is told to come to the top of the mountain and wait there so that He can give him the tablets. Now if I'm Moses I'd probably have told Marceen to save me some dinner and I'll be back to tuck the kids in. I wonder sitting there as it got late that first evening if he simply reminded God that he was ready? I wonder after that first night he spent on the mountain if he tried calling out to Him to see if he was at the right place? 2nd night? 3rd night? 4th night? I don't know about you but this would REALLY throw my planning mind into chaos. While it doesn't say what he did during those 6 days, knowing what we know of Moses what I think he did was probably pretty simple:

He knew, and waited.

He didn't complain. He didn't get frustrated. He didn't get angry. He didn't question God. He didn't question his mission. He didn't blame anyone. He didn't go back to check on anyone at home.

He knew, and waited.

I need to 'know' like Moses knew. I have parts of me that will always need spiritual deepening, like the father in Mark 9:24 "I believe; help my unbelief!". Or as the apostles called out to the Lord in Luke 17:5 "Increase my faith!". The deeper I go, the more I learn to trust. The more I learn to trust, the more I know. The more I know, the more I just smile in peace ... and wait.

Waiting on the Lord,

~Matthew