What happens when we ignore God or don't seek Him?

 Exodus 32
19When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. 21He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” 22“Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” 25Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him. 27Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ” 28The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” 30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” 33The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

God had just led the Israelites out of Egypt with ten plagues, none of which affected the Israelites, only the Egyptians. He has parted the Red Sea. He has given them manna from heaven every day and provided them with water in the desert. 

So, what do they do when their leader, Moses, is gone on the mountain (with God) longer than they expected? They create an idol, a golden calf, and worship it instead of God. Then they take disobedience and selfishness to an ever lower level and anarchy reigns in the camp. I have to wonder how Aaron gave way to this thinking so easily after all the great miracles.

Then I think about myself. How many times have I prayed for answers and instead of waiting just did something I decided to do? How many times did I skip waiting on God's answer? How many times during every day, do I rely on my judgement instead of God's judgment? In other words, do I talk to God all day so that I know I am doing His will, not mine, all day? No, I am sad to say I do not. Sad...

What's even worse is the number of times I have seen God work in my life and yet I forget too rely on Him. He has resolved broken relationships. He has revealed a missionary field. He has provided exactly what I have needed before I knew I needed it. He has protected my family. He promises to keep my family with Him forever. The list goes on.

Father, I know you are all knowing, that you only want what is best for me. Thank you for always trying to get my attention. Please help me to focus on you and you alone. Help me to be grateful for all the things you have done for me, and will do for me  In Jesus Christ's name I pray. Amen