God is preparing His people by placing the hidden and broken things in our lives out in the open in plain view. He is doing this, not to punish us, but to remove the old inhibiting ways of living from our lives so we can finish the race of faith intact. Godly exposure is to be embraced, never feared.

The Israelites had grown impatient having to take the long way around the land of Edom because they were refused passage through that land. Their impatience was then directed toward God and the leadership of Moses. They had become impatient because they had no food or water and said, “And we hate this horrible manna!” (Numbers 21:5).

Because of their disobedience and dissatisfaction, the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people. Many were bitten and began to die. The people came to Moses in fear to repent of their sins and asked, “Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes” (vs. 7).

The Lord said to Moses, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” (vs. 8). Moses did as the Lord had commanded. All who looked at the snake on the pole were healed.

Jesus spoke of this event in John 3, “And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life” (vs. 14-15). These verses set the stage for the next verse, John 3:16.

The very things that produced death in our lives must be honestly seen by us and placed upon the work of the Cross. The only way out of a spiritual death spiral is to honestly look at the sins we have allowed in our lives and call it what it is – a sin against God. Only then can the new things come.

Faith is choosing to look past the lies that got us bitten by our sins. As we look at our sin on the Cross we can begin to believe there is something more coming our way because of God’s redemptive work in our lives. Exposure is always an act of love. We must choose to to see it that way or all the good God has planned for us will not come to pass.