Today's Scripture:

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Read: Reflect on a story in your life that pertains to this scripture.
This section of Scripture, while being in 1 Corinthians, references an incident that happened in Exodus 32. In Exodus 32, the people became restless while Moses was away receiving the Law, and they created a golden calf to worship instead of God, which ended in God punishing many of them through death. Paul uses that story as a reminder that people are tempted to leave God behind when we don't see Him working at all times, but that if we lean into Him, He will keep us from making the same mistake that Israelites made in the dessert when they were tempted away.

Reflect: What is this scripture telling you during this season?
Lent reminds us of barrenness and temptation, both in the story of the Israelites in the dessert and in the story of Jesus in the dessert. Each of us have seasons of dryness as well. For Jesus, He was in the dessert getting hungrier and thirstier by the day, presented with options to stray, His own kinds of golden calves. But, He chose God instead, and as He did so, angels came and took care of Him. The Scripture today reads that God is faithful; He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when we are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that we can endure it. When Jesus was tempted, He resisted by choosing God, and God responded by providing a way out through the care of angels. For me, I was in a season of dryness a year or two ago, where I was convinced that God was on everyone else's team, but not mine. While I didn't respond perfectly, I did go to God and tell Him that, and He provided a way out through new friends and friends who feel like family. I could have chosen a more direct route to comfort, like the Israelites and their golden calves, but that would have paled in comparison to what God provided instead!

Respond: How is this scripture calling you to respond?
For us, we might be in a season of dryness, with temptations to fill that dryness all around us. Our job is to go to God instead of those false sources of comfort. We were given the example of the Israelites for a reason! For those of us who aren't in a season of dryness, we need to be aware that we might be God's way out for someone else. We might be the source of comfort, Scripture, and love that God gives to someone else in the midst of their dry season, but we need to be in touch with God so that we can live into that!

About Liz Moran:
My family is originally from GA, and my parents (John and Kelli) are still living out there. I have two older brothers, Turk and Mason. Turk is up in Hoboken doing banking while Mason is in Alabama with his wife as they both train to become helicopter pilots for the army.
I'm one of the two student ministries associates here at Grace! I get to work with 6-12th graders and teach them about Jesus, and I have been involved with the students since 2021!