Fast Food gods

Life in America is definitely lived at a fast pace. We want what we want and we want it now! If you don’t believe me, just listen to some of the names of the local businesses in my area. Quick Clean Car Wash. Quick Mart. Quick Fix Massage Shop. Kwik Trip (gas station). Express Window Cleaning. Express Employment Professionals. Express Care. Fast Signs.

Do I even want to experience a “quick massage” or “express care”? Is an “express employment professional” really someone I want to hire?

If I’m being honest, I perpetuate this constant drive for quick results in my daily life. I get frustrated when my computer can’t run five programs at once. The other day I was actually berating my computer out loud (I bet you would have liked to hear that)! Yesterday when I came upon cars that were only going the speed limit, I looked for an opportunity to pass them. At the grocery store I always pace the isles looking for the shortest line. At McDonald’s this weekend I had to wait 10 minutes for my food and it seemed like an eternity.

I think you get the point! This morning as I read my devotions, I was surprised to see that the children of Israel also acted impatiently. When Moses was receiving the 10 Commandments, they decided they didn’t want to wait for him. Exodus 32:1 says that when the people of Israel saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they complained to Aaron. They said, “Makes us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”

Allow me to paraphrase, “We are tired of waiting. We want fast-food gods and we want them now. We don’t care if the one true God has led us out of slavery and captivity and is taking us to the Promised Land. If God won’t do what we want right now, we just can’t be bothered to wait. Make us some false gods.”

We have to be careful that we don’t expect God to produce results for us like the quick results we expect at McDonald’s or the instant cash machine. God is not our express teller. God will answer us in His timing and His timing is always best. God wants us to be faithful to Him in prayer and patient in waiting for Him to answer.

Don’t get caught up in the fast food mentality when it comes to your relationship with God. We can’t develop a deep and lasting relationship with the Lord if we don’t spend quality time with Him. In other words, we can’t expect a Timber Lodge steak at Burger King. There’s no such thing as a fast food God.

Scripture: Exodus 32:1-29

Prayer: Oh, God, we know that You want to have a relationship with us. You sent Your Son Jesus to take on our sins so that we can know You personally. Please forgive us for taking You for granted. Forgive us for wanting a deep relationship with You, but not putting in the time to read Your Word and get to know You better. We don’t want to know you in a “fast food” way. We want to wait patiently to listen for You to speak to us.