1 Corinthians 10:1-13

God’s children suffered badly in Egypt. They had to work as slaves and they had no say in what was going on. They prayed to God and begged to be saved from all the hardship. And He did! Through one miracle after another He helped them. The miracles didn’t stop. Through miracles He fed His people and was with them – in a column of smoke or a column of fire.

God really went to a lot of trouble for His people to save them from the Egyptians. But for one reason or another there were many who wanted to go their own way and didn’t do what God wanted. 5But just experiencing God’s wonder and grace didn’t seem to mean much—most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.

I really don’t understand the Israelites. They complained and begged God day and night to save them. And that is precisely what He did, but they turned their backs on Him. They decided to build idols instead. How stupid can you be! They didn’t realise that they shouldn’t mess with the Almighty God and many of them died right there – 23 000 people on one single day.

Paul says we must learn from this. We must know that we shouldn’t mess around with God. God is not our pal. 9We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him … Is it wrong to say that there’s an end to God’s grace somewhere? Probably. But we shouldn’t mess around with God’s grace. Jesus paid a costly price on the cross. He paid with His life. Don’t dare too much and go too far.

This is a big warning on an enormous billboard:  12We are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence. I’m certain that God’s people did not look for opportunities to transgress. In a way they became used to the way they were living and did not realise that they were offending God. Temptations slipped in through the back door and without them realising it, they were lured further and further away from God. Temptations do not ask permission to come in. Before we know it, sin has taken hold of our lives.

We must know that we can be led into temptation every day. There are temptations around every corner that want to mislead us and we must watch out, because they are camouflaged very well. It doesn’t look like temptation, but when we look closer we will see that the nice innocent little package has only one purpose and that is to lure us away from God. Most times it steals our time and we have no more time for God.

Watch out. Be serious about this warning and look for that which steal your time with God. Make sure that you’re going in the right direction. Be on the lookout for temptations. Simply ask whether it will bring you closer to God or take you further away from Him. Come to a standstill in your busy life. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you distinguish the things that take you away from God and get rid of them.

May God be satisfied with our lives. May we watch out and avoid temptation. May we in that way also help others to avoid temptation. May we take each other by the hand and stand up to the temptations in life.

Reflection

Where does temptation appear in your lives?

Are you living your life within God’s boundaries?

Are you sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit?

Prayer

Lord, sometimes temptation comes so quickly and then it’s not always easy to stand up to it. Sometimes it’s so easy to make a mistake. I don’t want to fall, Lord. Therefore, I ask You for Your help to stand up to temptation and live within Your will for my life at all times. Amen

Lord, sometimes temptation comes so quickly and then it’s not always easy to stand up to it. Sometimes it’s so easy to make a mistake. I don’t want to fall, Lord. Therefore, I ask You for Your help to stand up to temptation and live within Your will for my life at all times. Amen