Look to Christ and Live

Sometimes the answer from God feels too simple.

Pray. Read your scriptures. Go to church. Repent. Keep trying. Turn to Christ.

Those things can sound small, especially when your problems feel big.

But one story in the Book of Numbers teaches that simple acts of faith can connect us to the healing power of Jesus Christ.

When the children of Israel became discouraged and spoke against God and Moses, fiery serpents came among them. Many were bitten, and many suffered. When the people realized they had sinned, Moses prayed for them.

Then the Lord gave a simple command:

“Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”

Moses did what the Lord commanded:

“And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”

They did not have to do something complicated.

They had to look.

The brazen serpent pointed to Jesus Christ. The message was simple and powerful: look to God and live.

But Alma later explained something important:

“But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.”

That still happens today.

Sometimes we do not look to Christ because we think the simple things will not really help. Other times we may believe Christ can help other people, but not us. We may feel too broken, too guilty, too far gone, or too spiritually tired.

But that is not true.

Jesus Christ can heal you.

The simple things matter because they point us to Him. Prayer is not powerful just because of the words we say. Scripture study is not powerful just because of the pages we read. Church and the temple are not powerful just because they are places we go.

They matter because they help us look to Christ.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught:

“Looking to God means that He is not just one of our priorities; it means, rather, that He is our one highest priority.”

You do not have to fix everything before you look to Him. You look to Him so He can help heal what is broken.

Reflection

What is one simple way the Lord may be inviting you to look to Him more consistently?

Today’s Challenge

Choose one simple act of faith today: pray sincerely, read a few verses, listen to a conference talk, repent, or put a reminder of Christ somewhere you will see it.

As you do it, think: I am looking to Christ.

Closing Thought

The way was simple, but the power was real.

The Savior still invites us to look to Him and live. Not because we are already perfect, but because He is the one who can heal us.

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