Written by Rebecca Johnson
Have you ever noticed that sometimes the very thing you’ve been trying to avoid is the very thing God gently invites you to face?
In Numbers 21:4–9, the Israelites were bitten by poisonous snakes because of their rebellion. As the venom spread through the camp, many began to die. The people cried out to God, and instead of simply removing the snakes, God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole.
Anyone who had been bitten only had to look at it in faith, and they would live.
I’ve often wondered why God chose that method.
Why not just take the snakes away?
Why ask them to look at the image of the very thing that had caused them pain?
Perhaps because healing sometimes requires us to face what has wounded us—not so we can relive the pain, but so God can redeem it.
What Is God Asking You to Face?
Sometimes we don’t even realise we’re carrying a wound until life exposes it.
You may not know rejection is still affecting you until someone overlooks you.
You may not realise pride has taken root until you’re corrected.
You may not notice your fear of abandonment until someone leaves.
Life has a way of revealing what our hearts have been hiding.
Not because God wants to shame us.
But because He wants to heal us.
We Can’t Heal What We Refuse to Acknowledge
There’s a children’s story called We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, and one line has always stayed with me:
“We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. We’ve got to go through it.”
Isn’t that often how healing feels?
We’d rather walk around our pain.
Pretend it isn’t there.
Keep ourselves busy.
But God lovingly says,
“Come with Me. Let’s walk through this together.”
Not alone.
With Him.
What the Enemy Meant for Harm
Joseph understood this.
After years of betrayal, slavery, and prison, he could finally say to his brothers:
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” — Genesis 50:20
Notice, Joseph didn’t say the betrayal was good.
He said God used it for good.
That’s the difference.
God doesn’t waste our pain.
He redeems it.
Look to Jesus
The bronze serpent wasn’t about focusing on the snake—it was about looking where God told them to look.
Jesus later said:
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” — John 3:14
Our healing isn’t found by staring endlessly at our wounds.
Our healing is found by bringing our wounds to Jesus.
He doesn’t ask us to pretend we were never hurt.
He asks us to trust Him with what hurt us.
Reflection
What situation keeps surfacing in your life?
What feeling do you keep trying to avoid?
Could it be that God isn’t trying to punish you?
Could He be inviting you into a place of healing?
Sometimes the place where you were wounded becomes the place where you discover the Great Physician. Because what the enemy meant to destroy you with… God can transform into a testimony of His grace.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3
Maybe today, instead of running from the wound, you can bring it to the feet of Jesus.
Because healing doesn’t begin when we hide our pain. It begins when we trust the One who can redeem it.