God is Forming You (Monday Morning Faith)

When God rescued Israel from Egypt, He didn't simply give them a list of rules and send them on their way. He wanted a relationship with them. Exodus 24 is a beautiful picture of that relationship being established. God makes a covenant with His people, welcomes them into His presence, and then asks Moses to wait for Him. That matters because we often think of Christianity as a list of things we are supposed to do. Pray. Read the Bible. Go to church. Be kind. Don't sin. And those things matter. But they are not the reason God rescued us. God rescued us because He wants us.

A covenant is more than a contract. A contract says, "You do your part, and I'll do mine." A covenant says, "I am committing myself to this relationship." God had already rescued Israel before He gave them these instructions. Their obedience wasn't how they earned God's love. Their obedience was how they learned to live as people who already belonged to Him. The same is true for us. Through Jesus, God has made a way for us to belong to Him. We don't obey so God will finally love us. We obey because He has already loved us and brought us near.

Then something remarkable happens in Exodus 24. Moses, Aaron, and the elders go up the mountain, and verse 11 says they "ate and drank" in God's presence. They weren't merely allowed to survive being near God. They were welcomed into fellowship with Him. That's easy to forget. Many of us believe God loves us, but we still live as though He merely tolerates us. We think we have to perform well enough to stay close to Him. But God doesn't simply want our obedience. He wants our presence.

Then Moses climbs farther up the mountain. The cloud covers Sinai, and Moses waits six days before God speaks. Then Moses remains there for forty days and forty nights. Imagine what that must have felt like. Nothing seemed to be happening. But something was happening. Moses was being formed. We often assume that if God isn't changing our circumstances, He must not be doing anything. But Exodus 24 reminds us that waiting can be part of God's work. Sometimes we want God to change our situation, while God is using the situation to change us.

A lifelong student of Scripture may notice something interesting here. The six days of waiting before God speaks echo the rhythm of creation in Genesis. Just as God worked for six days and then rested on the seventh, Moses waits through six days before God calls him on the seventh. The pattern reminds us that God's timing is purposeful. God is never simply filling time.

Maybe you're waiting right now. You're waiting for an answer. You're waiting for a relationship to change. You're waiting for a job. You're waiting for healing. You're waiting for God to make sense of something that doesn't make sense. Don't assume that waiting means God is absent. Slow doesn't mean inactive.

You may not be able to see what God is doing, but that doesn't mean He isn't working. He may be developing patience in you. He may be deepening your faith. He may be teaching you to trust Him without having all the answers. He may be preparing you for something you aren't ready for yet. God rescued Israel to make them His people. And He has rescued us through Jesus so that we can belong to Him too. He welcomes us into His presence.

He is forming us through His Word, His Spirit, His people, our obedience, and even our waiting. So if you find yourself in a season where you can't see what God is doing, remember this: You have been rescued for relationship.

God is with you. God is forming you. And God is not finished with you yet.

Prayer:
Father, thank You for rescuing me and bringing me near. Help me trust You when I don't understand what You're doing. Teach me to enjoy Your presence and to remember that waiting isn't wasted when I'm waiting with You. Continue to form me into the person You want me to be. In Jesus' Name I Pray, Amen.