The Way Of Escape Series

They now saw the backstory, the previously hidden details of his planning in his journal. As a result, the family gained a new kind of appreciation and love for their dad and husband. His journal welcomed them into the quiet place of intentional planning and loving execution. They could see how they were central to everything that he had done. Thumbing through the journal, they realized his love for them engulfed their entire experience. (Erik Raymond; “Discovering a Secret Journal of Grace,” The Gospel Coalition, 8-27-19; www.PreachingToday.com).

In the same way, God’s love for you engulfs your entire experience! Ephesians 1 says, “[God] has blessed [every believer] in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Then it goes on to enumerate those blessings, as 1 Corinthians 10 does here.

And when you read words like these in the Bible, it’s like thumbing through the journal of your heavenly Father. You discover that God carefully and intricately planned your happy experiences, along with the hard ones for your good. He set His love on you before the foundation of the world, and He carried it out in real time.

Please, focus on God’s goodness when you’re tempted. Thumb through the journal of your Heavenly Father and see His love for you. If you want to escape sin in times of temptation, realize how much God has already blessed you. Then…

RESIST THE DESIRE FOR EVIL.

Fight against the craving for sin. Withstand the false appeal of your addiction. God had blessed His people, who came out of Egypt…

1 Corinthians 10:5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness (ESV).

God overthrew that entire generation. Literally, God spread their bodies all over the wilderness, all except Joshua and Caleb.

1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did (ESV).

Despite God’s generous blessings, they desired evil. Literally, they lusted after harmful practices. Please, don’t do what they did! Specifically…

1 Corinthians 10:7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play” (ESV).

When Moses was on Mount Sinai, receiving the Law of God, the people were participating in a drunken orgy as part of their worship before a golden calf (Exodus 32:6).

1 Corinthians 10:8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day (ESV).

Later, prostitutes in Moab enticed the men of Israel to have sex with them as part of their worship of Baal. As a result, God sent a plague, which killed 23,000 Israelites in one day, and up to 24,000 before the plague finally ran its course, according to Numbers 25 (Numbers 25:1-9).

1 Corinthians 10:9-10 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer (ESV).

On another occasion, God sent fiery serpents when His people complained about their journey to the Promised Land (Numbers 21:4-9).