LOOK AND LIVE
By Bishop Mike Okonkwo
Friday 9th May 2025
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” (Numbers 21:8 NKJV)
Beloved, God wants you to look to Him, that you may live. No effort, no struggle, just look. His instructions are not grievous, and He never leaves you without help even with obeying them. In His love, He wants you to simply trust and obey by looking to Him, with the assurance that you will live, regardless of the circumstance around you.
From our scripture today, the children of Israel were in the wilderness and were under attack by deadly snakes, as a result of their murmurings against God. Even then, the Lord told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole in the camp. The instruction was: ‘If you have been bitten, look at the brazen serpent; and when you look, you will live’. Sadly, those who did not believe and consequently refused to look, died. They must have said to themselves, “How can one be healed of a fiery serpent’s bite and live, by simply looking at this sculpted serpent?” In contrast, those who looked, lived – and it did not matter how they looked, as long as they looked.
God’s instructions are always explicit, and they are for our benefit. As always, it is humans like you and I, that make them seem ambiguous and difficult. Similar to when God’s people were still under the bondage of slavery in Egypt, He told them to kill an animal, and put the blood on their doorposts or lintels, and stay indoors, to avoid the judgment that was coming throughout the land. How much clearer can a directive be? As far as being preserved from impending death, all they needed to do was obey God’s instruction, nothing more. And the Bible says that when the angel of death came, the presence of the blood was all that was required, for God had already said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” (Exodus 12:13)
The challenge of many believers today, is that we do not know the extent of what we have, simply by being in Christ. Sadly, we don’t leverage this in-Christ reality and our relationship with Him. Any wonder why when faced with obstacles, we think ourselves to be victims when we are actually victors. Beloved, you are a world overcomer and are wired to win. “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ…” (2 Corinthians 2:14 KJV). Do you not know that whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and the victory that overcomes the world is our faith? Today, the instruction is still the same; “Look and live”. That is all you are called to do.
Further Reading: Numbers 21:4-9
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- 2 Kings 7-9; Evening- John 1:1-28