Third Wednesday of Lent

So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? A little more and they will stone me!” The Lord answered Moses: Go on ahead of the people, and take along with you some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the Nile. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink. Moses did this, in the sight of the elders of Israel. The place was named Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”

—Exodus 17:4–7

God never appears to someone in the Bible and says, “I have a really easy job for you, and even the small obstacles I will smooth out so that you don’t notice them.” Nothing worth accomplishing is ever easy, but these obstacles are opportunities to lean into God. If we are willing to lean into God and depend on his grace, we will see his power as Moses did.

But if we choose to grumble and complain, we will miss out on his power. God’s power works through human weakness when we choose to trust him. He wants us to learn to rely upon him and his grace so we can become who he created us to be.

Ask God for the gift of humility to learn the lessons you need to be able to pass the tests of faith that will come your way today.

 This reflection from Messages of Trust for Lent, originally published by Ave Maria Press, was reprinted with permission of the authors, Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran. For more parish resources, visit https://www.rebuiltparish.com/.

Responsorial psalms are excerpted from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Other scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC, and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.