Pastor Nicole Olinski

Money and power are connected, and most of us feel that connection every day. We see it play out in culture: those with money can influence, open doors, and make things happen that others cannot. But here is the deeper truth that often goes unspoken. Money does not just give power to those who have it. It has power over all of us. We all need it, we all want it, and no matter how much we get, we always want more. That cycle can quietly take control of our lives if we let it.

But when we know who it all belongs to and we trust Him, something shifts. We can live with open hands. We can allow God to be in control of what was always His to begin with. The tension comes when we do not see God doing what we want Him to do. That is when we reach for control, because taking control is what happens when we stop trusting God.

The Golden Calf and the Temptation of Control

The Israelites knew this tension well. In Exodus chapter 32, the people of Israel are camped at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moses has gone up the mountain to meet with God and receive the Ten Commandments. His brother Aaron is down with the people. And while they wait, something starts to unravel.

Exodus 32:1 says, "When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. 'Come on,' they said, 'make 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.'"

So Aaron told them to bring the gold rings from their ears, the very gold that God had allowed them to take from the Egyptians. "Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, 'Oh, Israel! These are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"

Think about what just happened. They lost sight of God and stopped trusting Him. Moses was literally on the mountain meeting with God on their behalf, and they got tired of waiting.

What Happens When We Get Tired of Waiting

When we get tired of waiting, we take things into our own hands. We decide we can handle it ourselves. We say, "I've got this." That is exactly what the Israelites did. They created their own god, and then they gave that idol the credit for bringing them out of Egypt.

Can you imagine how God felt through this whole thing? They shifted their focus from God, who is their source, from the One with unlimited power, to an idol they created with no power at all. They took their eyes off the source because they were tired of waiting. And that is when human control wants to take over.

The Waiting Is Where Faith Grows

Here is what we often miss: the waiting is where our trust and our faith grow. The waiting is where our reliance on God deepens. It is not wasted time. It is sacred ground.

I know this from experience. There was a time when my family lived up in Jacksonville. We were there for five and a half years. Pastor Aaron was an assistant pastor at a church, and I was staying home with our children. Our two older boys were one and three, and our middle son, who was one at the time, got very, very sick.

We did not have health insurance. We were living on one income, budgeting very carefully, and insurance just was not something we could afford. So here my one-year-old is really sick, his fever keeps rising and rising, and I am giving him medicine and getting more and more concerned.

I decided to load him up in the car and drove about 25 minutes across town to where our doctor was. I did not have an appointment, but I pulled into the parking lot, sat in the car with him, and just monitored his temperature, waiting for it to drop.

In those moments, I began praying. I said, "God, You know we don't have the money for me to go in the doctor's office and pay for this visit. We don't have that money. But I need You to do something. Either heal him right now, or provide for us to be able to take him to the doctor." I did not know what it was going to be, but I was there, praying, trusting, extending my faith.

And I waited. And I prayed. And I monitored him. And eventually, his fever started falling and coming back down. I could tell he was starting to feel much better, so I drove back home with him.

It was in that moment that my faith deepened with God, that my trust was anchored in Him. It happened in the waiting, not despite it.

The Illusion of Control

That is the same space the Israelites were in when they made the golden calf. The waiting felt unbearable, so they reached for something they could see, something they could touch. The idol gave them the illusion of direction, protection, and control. But it was a counterfeit power.

When we lose trust in God's timing, we reach for a power that we can control. You may not have a golden calf, but what is it for you when it comes to your money? Do you have to be in control? Are you trusting in your bank account instead of God?

We may not stop believing in God, but we can replace Him with something we can control. And when it comes to our finances, the question is simple: do we want our limited power, or do we want the unlimited power of God?

Living With Open Hands

The invitation is not to be reckless with money or to stop being responsible. The invitation is to hold it all with open hands, to trust that the One who owns it all is faithful even when the waiting feels long. Our faith does not grow in the moments when everything makes sense. It grows in the parking lots, in the uncertainty, in the seasons where all we can do is pray and wait.

God's power is not limited by our bank account, our budget, or our circumstances. When we stop reaching for control and start trusting Him, we position ourselves to experience something no amount of money can buy: the unlimited, faithful power of a God who has never once failed His people.