And the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live. —Numbers 21:8

At one point in Israel’s history, Israelites were dying in large numbers because a plague of snakes came upon them and were biting them as a result of their sin (see Numbers 21:6). What did their leader, Moses, do? He prayed. To solve the problem, Moses turned his attention immediately to God, not to himself or anyone else.

I have found that victorious people in the Bible faced their problems with prayer. They did not worry; they prayed. I ask you today: Do you worry or do you take your needs to God in prayer? Moses sought God about how to handle the snakes. He did not make his own plan and ask God to bless it; he did not try to figure out an answer in his mind, nor did he worry. He prayed, and his action brought a response from God. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent, set it on a pole and put it in front of the people. Every snake-bitten person who looked at it would live. The New Testament tells us this action represented the cross and Jesus’ taking our sin upon Himself: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must . . . the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], in order that everyone who believes in Him . . . may not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14, 15).

You and I still sin today, but the message of the bronze serpent still applies: “Look and live.” Look at Jesus and at what He has done, not at yourself and what you have done or can do. Hebrews 12:2 has great advice: “Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith . . .” The answer to your problem, whatever it may be, is not worry, but praying and trusting that Jesus is leading you.

Love God Today: Look to Jesus for the answer to every problem that you have! He loves it when you lean on Him.