Bitten

I’ve felt bitten lately. Bitten by fear, bitten by doubt, bitten by grief. Let me explain. I recently did a study on Numbers 21 about the Israelites in the desert .

Verses 5-8 say:

“They traveled…But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

“Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.

The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

The LORD said to Moses, “Make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”

When the Israelites begged Moses to ask God to take away the snakes, God answered. But He chose to provide a different way of healing. Rather than removing the snakes from their lives, (a fearful or painful circumstance) God had his alternate plans. He told Moses to create a bronze snake and mount it on a pole. The very thing that was the source of their fear! Anyone who was bitten could run and lift their eyes to the image and allow God to heal them completely. They could get bitten again(and most likely did) but God provided a way of healing.

In my own life, when I pray for healing or for difficult circumstances to change, God always answers. But He doesn’t always answer the way I expect. I remember praying as a 10 year old that my Dad would be healed of brain cancer. I would cry and beg and wonder why he wasn’t being healed. But now, I know that he was. But not in the way I expected. My dad clung to God each and every day, reading his Bible and journaling and rejoicing in the little things. (Like watching old westerns like Bonanza with his kids, eating butterfinger ice cream or drinking cappuccino.) He was pressing into God, being comforted, being healed, and ultimately he was taken home to a new home, a new body, with no pain, and no cancer.

God provides healing and comfort and even little moments of joy when I turn my eyes to Him and press into HIM. God could remove the source of pain from my life or the lives of my children, but the source of pain sometimes is turned into the source of healing.

It’s ok to feel bitten. This is one of those days for me. But I need to resist the urge to crawl in a hole in fear. I need my morning hours to listen for God’s voice, and look for His source of healing. It’s always there.